The Trek Life
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| The Trek Life | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | David Reddick |
| Website | The Trek Life archive |
| Current status / schedule | Suspended online, Running in Star Trek Magazine |
| Launch date | 2005-07-25 |
| Genre(s) | Star Trek fandom |
The Trek Life was a thrice-weekly comic series about three Star Trek fans (Carl, Steve and Kate), written by David Reddick and published on StarTrek.com. The Trek Life first appeared in 2005-07-25. It was a regular feature on the Web site with a new episode every Monday. The Trek Life also appears in every issue of Titan Publishing's Star Trek Magazine, and also appears as a backup feature in IDW Publishing's Star Trek comic books. David Reddick also writes and draws for the Garfield comic strip for Jim Davis at the Garfield studio (Paws, Inc.).
Reddick calls The Trek Life "the perfect merging of my love of Star Trek and my love of cartooning ... I like Star Trek fans. I understand them. I find them to be intelligent, thinking people."[1]
Beginning October 1, 2007 The Trek Life was expanded from one to three strips per week.[2]
New episodes ceased on StarTrek.com when the website went dormant in December 2007. However, in an interview on Roddenberry.com, Reddick assured fans that it is not dead, and in fact still in publication in Star Trek Magazine, while at the same time looking at other publishing options.[3]
[edit] Characters
Carl, Steve, and Kate have been friends since childhood, and all of them are Star Trek fans. The Trek Life follows their lives through their work, home and free time as they discuss Star Trek and all there is to it. They are all different people; however, Star Trek is part of their lives. Carl is a fanatical Star Trek fan, while Steve is more relaxed. Kate is new to the Star Trek world, however she learns a great deal from her friends Carl and Steve.
Carl Jennings: Carl is the central character of the series. His character is a satire of obsessive Star Trek fans. Carl has been a fan of Star Trek since he was very young and has been able to speak in Klingon since the sixth grade. Carl is obsessed with Orion slave girls. In his own words, he is a "red shirt in the Star Trek episode of life." His thoughts almost solely consist of Star Trek, green women and cheese dip. He has romantic feelings for Eve Hoople, complicated by the fact that she is his boss' (Mr. Hoople) daughter. And Carl does not get along with Kate's Trek-loving cat, Snuggles.
Steve: Steve is Carl's friend. He has been a Star Trek fan since college. Steve is a huge Star Trek fan, but not anywhere near the level of Carl.
Kate: Kate is another of Carl's childhood friends. She is the least fanatical of the three main characters (i.e. she thought a Jedi was along the same lines as a "Trekkie" or a "Trekker"). Kate has her own real-life advice column on StarTrek.com called "Ask Kate."
Other recurring characters
Mr. Hoople: Mr. Hoople is Carl's boss at Hoople Industries. He cannot appreciate Carl's obsession with Star Trek.
Sylvia Jennings: Sylvia is Carl's mother and is also a devoted Star Trek fan. She favors Archer over Kirk and appreciates both for their "buff bods". She is the source of Carl's love of Star Trek.
Eve Hoople: Mr. Hoople's daughter. She is also a Star Trek fan. She is romantically involved with Carl.
Snuggles: Kate's Trek-loving cat, and arch-enemy of Carl.
Jack: An employee at Hoople Industries. He is the stereotypical sports-loving, macho man; "the office stud". Eve Hoople says if you squint your eyes and use your imagination, he looks like a Gorn.
Real people: Several real people involved in the Star Trek franchise have appeared as cartoon characters within the strip. These include the following:
J.J. Abrams: He is the producer and writer of Star Trek XI. Carl sent letters to him with movie ideas in the May 1st, 8th and 15th strips. Abrams appeared in the January 15th strip where Carl sent him 1,263 e-mails and called him and left 437 phone messages on his answering machine.
Avery Brooks: Carl met Brooks only in an imaginary sequence in 2005, but then finally got to meet him in person at the 2006 convention in Las Vegas (August 21).
Menina Fortunato, Bobbi Sue Luther and Crystal Allen: Carl only just missed meeting three of the actresses who played Orion slave girls, much to his despair (August 22 2005).
Kate Mulgrew: Carl, Steve and Kate went to see Mulgrew's one-woman show Tea at Five (September 26 2005). She also appeared when Carl met several 'captains' at the 2006 Las Vegas convention.
William Shatner: Shatner appeared alongside Stewart in the February 6, 2006 strip in which he is asked to make a ridiculous personalized statement on a photo for Carl. Carl also bid on Shatner's kidney stone. Carl met William Shatner at a convention in Las Vegas and even sat on his lap during a photo opportunity session in the fashion of a child visiting Santa Claus at a mall/grotto (August 14th 2006).
Patrick Stewart: Stewart appeared in the February 6, 2006 strip, where Carl requested a personalized signed photo in which Stewart calls Carl "Borgalicious". Carl also met Stewart in an imaginary sequence in 2005 (August 15) and in person at the 2006 convention in Las Vegas (August 21).
Conventions and multiple real people: Carl met Shatner, Stewart, Brooks and Mulgrew in an imaginary sequence at a convention in 2005 (August 15) but then finally got to meet them in person at the 2006 convention in Las Vegas (August 21). At the 2005 convention, he also narrowly missed meeting three of the actresses who played Orion slave girls.
[edit] References
- ^ Carlson, John (October 17, 2005). "A Warped 'Enterprise'". The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana), Pg. 1C.
- ^ "Triple Play: Get "The Trek Life" 3 Times a Week!", startrek.com, September 17, 2007.
- ^ "Two strips of Latinum, drawn to humor", roddenberrry.com, March 11, 2008.
- David Reddick's official Website: DavidReddickStudio.com
- E&P Staff (August 17, 2005). "'The Trek Life' Takes Off". editorandpublisher.com
- E&P Staff (August 1, 2006). "Lots of 'Trek' news for Cartoonist David Reddick".
- E&P Staff (October 3, 2006). "TV Commercial for 'Trek' Cartoonist".
