here's little question that the personae of the Star Trek realm are instantly recognizable to science fiction fans around the world. With their unmistakable quirks, quips and quixotic actions, each character is thoroughly familiar, resulting in an eccentric cast that is not only highly memorable but also ripe for satire.
The Australian Web site Sev Trek seeks to capture that ready recognition and at the same time amiably poke fun at the Star Trek phenomenon. Through a quartet of on-going comic strips, Sev spoofs each incarnation of the television franchise. Titles such as Sev Trek: The X Generation and Sev Trek: Deep Sev Nine are utilized to designate the separate series, while names like Spook, Captain Pickhard and Ten Out of Ten identify the assorted crew members. There is also a weekly humor competition in which readers are invited to submit punchlines for a single-panel cartoon, such as explaining the Klingon Forehead Dilemma or finishing the sentence, "You know you're a Trekkie when..."
Site architect John Cook also offers a short explanation of the creative process behind Sev, highlighting the development, writing and drawing stages. A What's New segment is available, along with a discussion board, translations of the gags into various languages (including Klingon), connections to additional non-Star Trek oriented strips, a page offering information for potential advertisers and links to other fan-created locations. T-shirts and a screen saver are also for sale.
Star Trek meets Spaceballs
While the humor can be a tad uneven, Sev Trek, which derives its name from Cook's company Sevloid Art, does a nice job of good-naturedly lampooning every aspect of the Star Trek mythos. William Shatner's melodramatic delivery and Patrick Stewart's grandstanding are of course easy targets, but the more successful cartoons also aim for less-obvious subjects, such as the need for Voyager's crew to constantly hunt for supplies as they proceed through the Delta Quadrant (referred to as the Deltoid Quadrant in the appropriately titled Forager satire).
Whether the character names have been changed to avoid potential copyright litigation or simply to protect the innocent is anyone's guess, but they do undoubtedly enhance the humor. Monikers like Captain Gainweight (Janeway) or Major Tequila (Kira) invariably generate a modest smile, although Worf's designation as Barf, and in fact the general concept behind the site, is probably derived more from Mel Brooks's film Spaceballs than any specific Star Trek setting.
The artwork is clearly influenced by cartoonist Matt Groening. Bouffant hairdos, non-existent chins and protruding upper lips immediately remind viewers of The Simpsons, as does the smart-aleck attitude of the gags themselves. Nevertheless, while neither the idea nor the execution are wholly original, for Federation fans Sev Trek is clearly enjoyable, consistently delivering a farcical version of the oftentimes bizarre but always entertaining Star Trek universe.
