The Funniest Star Trek Fan Videos on YouTube

Amusing Online Movies Made by Trekkies Spoofing Star Trek Episodes

Aug 25, 2009

Star Trek fans have long enjoyed editing their favorite episodes into humorous videos. YouTube users DMPhoenix, Dayjob Orchestra, and Gazorra make some of the funniest.

Since the advent of VCRs, science-fiction fans have been able to tape and re-edit their favorite cult shows into new, often parodying, clips. Star Trek and its spin-offs, American television's pre-eminent science-fiction franchise, have been the most popular shows to re-purpose in this way.

Digital technology has only accelerated this phenomenon, and fan-made videos are readily available on YouTube. Some are crude and amateurish. Others, however, are edited and remixed with wit and skill, resulting in hilarious movies for other fans to enjoy. Here are a few examples of the funniest Star Trek fan videos on YouTube.

One of the oldest questions in fandom is what would happen if the universes of two science-fiction franchises were to meet. In "Star Trek versus Star Wars," by DMPhoenix, this is "answered." Through the use of clever editing, Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation intercepts a transmission of the Death Star plans, then has a run-in with Darth Vader's Star Destroyer.

Although the Enterprise-D is impervious to the Star Destroyer's weaponry ("Lasers?!" "Lasers can't even penetrate our navigation shields – don't they know that?"), Vader uses the Force to choke Picard and crew into submission.

There are a number of versions of Star Trek-versus-Star Wars videos on YouTube, as well as variations on that plot cliché. For instance, fans have created Star Trek-versus-Battlestar Galactica videos, and even "versus" movies between different parts of the Star Trek franchise, such as videos in which Captains Kirk and Picard fight it out.

The latest variation on this is DMP's "Picard versus Abrams," in which Picard's Enterprise (using footage from Star Trek: First Contact) goes back to 2003 to "repair the damage" the new Star Trek film's director, J. J. Abrams, has done to Star Trek continuity.

Another common type of funny fan video on YouTube dubs new dialogue over clips from Star Trek shows. Some of the most hilarious dialogue replacement videos are posted by YouTube user Dayjob Orchestra (or DJO).

"Star Trek Outtakes – Volume II" is a typical video. In it, DJO's clever editing and lip-synching allows Picard to snort coke and sing Stone Temple Pilots, Geordi LaForge to turn Main Engineering into a hip-hop venue, and the rest of the crew to let Data do all the work. Even Ozzy Osbourne pops up.

Other YouTube users have made funny Star Trek videos by carefully editing together scenes to make "new" episodes. The Belgian team Gazorra (aka Jan van den Hemel and Andrew Hussie) is among the most prolific and ingenious at this sub-genre of humorous fan video, mostly use footage from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Gazorra's over thirty YouTube videos include such gems as "A Fistful of Explosions," which makes fun of Star Trek: TNG's ominous cliff-hanger episodes; "Bridge Buffoonery," which pieces together brawls, slapstick, and VISOR jokes; and "Classical Concerto," in which Spock's father, Sarek, is moved to tears by a remix of the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

YouTube's DMPhoenix, Dayjob Orchestra, and Gazorra are all prolific and funny, and there are many more amusing Star Trek fan videos available online. Because re-editing old Star Trek shows began long before YouTube and modern computers made the process easy, it's likely that the number of funny Star Trek fan videos can only keep growing.

The copyright of the article The Funniest Star Trek Fan Videos on YouTube in Classic Sci-Fi TV is owned by Luke Arnott. Permission to republish The Funniest Star Trek Fan Videos on YouTube in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.