On Star Trek and Disability

By Randy Warren

Trekmania, an hour-long documentary, explores the Star Trek phenomenon through the eyes of the show’s hoards of fans. TVOntario’s Steve Paikin, himself a Star Trek enthusiast, hosts the documentary. Trekmania is jointly produced by Peter Reynolds, former Executive Producer of CBC’s Disability Network, and his son, Peter Gordon Reynolds, as a co-production with TVOntario.

What follows is from an interview with Randy Warren, a Star Trek fan born in 1962 with a physical disability as the result of Thalidomide.

TREKMANIA: It is difficult not to notice the Star Trek memorabilia. How long have you been collecting it?

RW: I have been collecting it since I was a kid. It became an obsession ever since the show’s fifth anniversary.

TREKMANIA: You must have a small fortune.

RW: The plates are worth three or four thousand. Comics, etc., are worth six or seven grand.

I got involved with Star Trek when I was seven years old. I spent long times in hospital. When I started to realize I was different because of my disability, I wondered what was going to be in store for me in the future. And a nurse there said, there is this new show on TV called Star Trek and it has got this guy in it who is different from everybody else. He is an alien from another planet. She felt I was not out of myself enough.

So I started watching it and I recognized Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock became a focal point for me, because he was me. He had the logical, cold side and that was his wall. He had that emotional side he was trying to get out. That was me, having a wall up so people couldn’t identify or hurt me. And then I had my emotional side. It was a natural marriage after that.

TREKMANIA: What does Star Trek say to you?

RW: Star Trek represents the hope for the future, the way we hope to be, not forgetting our past mistakes. For me, being born "Thalidomide," that is important. You have to remember what happened so it doesn’t happen again. Star Trek tackles issues of today -- those things that nobody ever says out loud. The AIDS problem. Racism is still apparent, torture, drug abuse -- it speaks to us today very eloquently.

TREKMANIA: Do you have a favourite character?

RW: Without a doubt it is Mr. Spock. But it is funny, with Star Trek, that Uhuru also played an important part. It convinced me that if these people can be on TV and part of this big universe that is so exciting, I can do that too in my life. I can really be motivated to be somewhere in my life. It is my escape. It is my tears. It is my happiness.

TREKMANIA: Are there characters with disabilities in the show?

RW: In Star Trek: The Next Generation there is a blind officer, an engineer, Geordi. He wears a prosthetic device. That’s okay. There are a lot of people with disabilities in the series, actors who are deaf, stuff like that. But there is no recurring person with a physical disability.

TREKMANIA: Has Star Trek had an impact on society, changing people’s attitudes?

RW: It mirrors society. It reflects society. It reminds us of the problems that are there in society. It puts things in a different way, in an escapist way. You have to look at it even subconsciously. I think it helps to shape minds. The liberal views displayed on Star Trek help open people’s minds to people who are different, to real social concerns. These social issues are happening today and they are still happening in the future in different ways. You have to be accepting of other people. And you have to be accepting of me as a person with a disability.

A person with a disability can be just like everyone else. It is amazing. I think that one day I will be able to go out into outer space.

(Trekmania will be aired this year on TVOntario. For more information, contact Peter Reynolds at (416) 922-7994.)