User:Handy Smurf/Trekism
Trekism is an Earth-based religion which is centered upon a story created by Gene Roddenbury. Followers of this religion are collectively called "Trekkies" or "Trekkers".
There have been several attempts to recruit new people to this religion. Here is a list:
1. Star Trek: The Original Series - This was a failed attempt lasting only 3 years, after which the Nielson ratings, a primitive form of seeing how popular a TV show is, dropped to unacceptable levels. This lasted from 1968-70. The show, however, did, after some time, bring a large number of people into the religion.
2. Star Trek: The Animated Series - This was an attempt made in the late '70s to recruit young people to this religion as a Saturday morning cartoon show. This, too, was discontinued.
3. Star Trek: The Movies -These movies, currently there are six, were another attempt to revive the recruiting attempt by bringing back the original crew of the fictional ship "Enterprise" to the big screen. This, so far, has succeeded.
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation - This is another series, started in 1987. This was an attempt to bring new members by creating a new "Enterprise" and a new crew. This was one of the most successful attempts.
5. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Due to the massive success at recruiting people with the previously mentioned method, another series was created. This was based on a space station, with more violence, which, on Earth at the time, was one of the most successful ways of getting money.
There are several factions of Trekkers, usually called "fan clubs." Some of these are called "The Official Fan Club" and "Starfleet."
These people often can be found congregating in places called "conventions" or "cons" in which they spend insane amounts of money on things which they can find elsewhere for less (or are totally worthless), and listen to the cast and crew of these shows and movies who would rather be somewhere else, or are being paid an insane amount of money. It is not uncommon for a Trekkie to travel hundreds of miles to get to one of these.
The icons of this religion are many. The most famous is called "Enterprise," which is the fictional ship on which most of the above mentioned shows take place. This is characterized by a disk, connected by a pylon to a cylinder below and behind it, which is connected to two other cylinders by pylons that are at two upward 45 degree angles. Another icon is a delta symbol that has a upward curve for the bottom side.
Beware! These people are highly volatile. They can go ballistic if you try and get them to believe that it is "just a TV show" and that they are wasting colossal amounts of time on it.