Fans dress in character for 'Star Trek' movie debut
The crowds of Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi and the occasional Borg that began lining up before dinnertime Thursday at local movie theaters would probably have blended in well at a 15th-century Venetian carnival.
Wendi Winters — For The CapitalTrish Rabbitt, 20, and Michael Torma, 19, both graduates of South River High School and students at Anne Arundel Community College, gear up for the new movie, “Star Trek,” by dressing as their favorite characters. Rabbitt is uniformed as a federation officer from the TV series “Deep Space Nine,” while Torma is dressed as a Klingon from the original “Star Trek” series.
Instead, they joined hundreds of perfectly normal-looking humans eager to be among the first in the area to view the latest movie in the "Star Trek" canon. Titled simply "Star Trek," it is the 11th film based on the TV series of the same name.
At Third Eye Comics in Parole, three "Star Trek" fans were making plans for the movie's debut.
Michael Torma, 19, of Edgewater, was dressed in his "casual" Klingon uniform.
"I have a few different Klingon outfits. I wear this one around town," he said, noting that he had hand-cast the Klingon insignia pin attached to his costume from a mold a friend sculpted for him.
"I have a more festive outfit that I wear to conventions, two or three a year, and movies. I'll wear it tonight," Torma said.
Torma would not be sporting the bony forehead ridges associated with Klingons, though.
"In the original 'Star Trek' series, Klingons did not have the ridges," he asserted. "They even referenced that when several members of the 'Deep Space Nine' crew time-traveled back to the 'Trouble With Tribbles' episode. They couldn't understand the absence of forehead ridges, either.
"Besides, in this wet weather, the stuff doesn't stick to my skin too well."
A graduate of South River High School and a graphic arts major at Anne Arundel Community College, Torma became a "Trekkie" five years ago, when he came across the original series in reruns on TV Land. He admires Klingons because "they're warlike, awesome, intense and a proud species." Two weeks ago, Torma purchased tickets online to several "Star Trek" showings this weekend. He planned to spend every available minute at the movie theater. He will carry his bat'leth - a traditional Klingon weapon - and a phaser with him.
"I don't dress up to go to the supermarket," he said. "I do like meeting people at conventions. I'm trying to start a 'Star Trek' club at AACC."
To Torma, "Star Trek" means "adventure, excitement and going where no man has gone before," he said. To folks who look askance at his fondness for "Star Trek," he says simply: "Don't knock it 'til you try it."
His friend, fellow South River graduate and AACC student Trish Rabbitt, 20, works part time at Third Eye. She was wearing the federation officer's uniform of Melina, a character who appeared in the "Star Trek" series "Deep Space Nine."
"All the awesome females were on that show," Rabbitt said. "I also have a uniform from the show, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.' "
Rabbitt said she grew up watching "Star Trek" episodes with her 56-year-old father, who is also a fan. The two would attend a couple regional conventions each year, and sometimes her mother would come along.
While still at South River, Rabbitt even wanted to go to the senior prom as Dr. Beverly Crusher, a "Next Generation" character. "My date wouldn't let me," she sighed, rolling her eyes.
Rabbitt said she planned to see the movie "twice on opening night, at least once on Friday with my brother, and I'll see the Sunday matinee show with my parents."
Third Eye Comics owner Steve Anderson, 26, fielded calls throughout Thursday from friends who were making plans to see the movie. On Thursday and Friday, Third Eye employees set up a table in the Bow Tie Cinemas lobby at Westfield Annapolis mall to hand out free "Star Trek" comic books to moviegoers.
"I wasn't thrilled with 'Wolverine,' " he told one caller, "but I'm looking forward to this 'Star Trek.' "
Though Anderson enjoys just about anything in the horror, science fiction and pop culture realms, he said he enjoys the original "Star Trek" series because it felt a lot more "unfiltered."
"They dealt with the issue of the '60s on this hokey series in a really cool way," he said. "They explored big issues on a small budget. The aliens were cooler, too."
Dr. Benna Sherman is a licensed psychologist who lives and works in Severna Park. She writes a biweekly column for The Capital and admits to being a bit of a Trekkie herself.
"As a series, Gene Roddenberry's 'Star Trek' was particularly positive and humanistic," she said. "It was about what was good with humankind. That's part of why people want to be a part of the 'Star Trek' world. It has a very positive and optimistic outlook."
The psychologist said dressing to look like a "Star Trek" character is a basic opportunity for fantasy.
"They're stepping outside of their normal life and routine," she explained. "It's set aside when you put away your normal clothing and your normal universe. You are liberated from things that are normally weighing on you."
"Star Trek," especially, gives people the opportunity to be a part of a community, Sherman said.
"Trekkies (experience) a social connectedness," she said. "You are automatically admitted as soon as you put on the costume. It's a club and you're part of the 'in group.' "
Sherman has only one concern with this form of fantasy: Does it take the place of - or supersede - conventional human connectedness?
"If your only social connection is with Trekkies at conventions or outside a theater, there's something wrong with your life," she said. "You're not having an authentic social connection; it's part of the fantasy."
Wendi Winters is a freelance reporter who lives on the Broadneck Peninsula.
