Indo-StarTrek community members pose together.

Growing up with the Cold War, the space race and watching men landing on the Moon, Berthold Sinaulan found himself captivated when he first saw Star Trek on television.

'I was a junior high school student when I saw the show, then aired by [government broadcast company] TVRI. It was on a black-and-white television, but it was very colorful to me,' 54-year-old Berthold told The Jakarta Post.

The US science-fiction entertainment franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and debuted in 1966 with the television series Star Trek ' later referred to as The Original Series (TOS).

The original series depicted the adventures of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise, whose five-year mission was to seek out new life and new civilizations and 'to boldly go where no man has gone before'.

Amid fierce competition between the Soviet Union and the US for supremacy in space, Berthold found himself fascinated by the stars as a teenager.

'However, that was not the only thing that made me fall in love with the series. It was Roddenberry's idea for peace and a unified humanity that was more exciting,' Berthold said.

Berthold considered Star Trek a very bold show that featured a crew that included a Japanese helmsman, a Russian navigator, a black woman as a communications officer and a half-Vulcan first officer.

Many Indonesians shared his love for the series and founded a fan community dubbed Indo-StarTrek.

Bowo Trahutomo, one of the most active members of the community, said that Indo-StarTrek, which started as a mailing list in 2003, was the latest large Star Trek fan community in Indonesia.

'There have been a number of other communities before us. Organizational problems were the main problem that made them not last long,' said Bowo, whose first exposure to the franchise was also on TVRI when he was a kid.

Inside the Starship USS Enterprise. The picture was taken during a trip to Star Trek exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In the 1980s there was also a fan community called USS Batavia, which was pioneered by musician Bowie Djati.

'Making the most out of the decade's information devices, they'd correspond with each other, seeking out other enthusiasts and arranging meetings through newspaper ads,' Bowo said.

The USS Batavia was very much driven by Star Trek broadcasts on TVRI; it soon receded after the broadcast ended.

In the late 1990s, another fan community rose, this time riding the wave of the Internet. 'Puruhito Sidikerto set up a mailing list called Trekkieslist, which thrived when [private television company] RCTI broadcast Star Trek: The Next Generation starting in 1997. Sadly, it was later disbanded,' Bowo said.

Indo-StarTrek also started as mailing list and maintained an active virtual connection between the members.

'We tracked down members of the USS Batavia and Trekkieslist to join us and revived the Indonesian Star Trek community together,' Bowo said.

The group finally decided to hold an event to meet with each other in person in April 2009.

'We refer to it as our own 'First Contact' day,' Bowo said, referring to one of the Star Trek motion pictures. Among Star Trek fans worldwide, First Contact Day is a fictional holiday celebrating the first meeting of humans and Vulcans on April 4, 2063, in the Star Trek Universe.

Indo-StarTrek has around 500 members in its mailing list, 550 on its Facebook page and 900 followers on its Twitter account, coming not only from Jakarta, but also from Yogyakarta, Central Java, Bali and North Sulawesi.

'Active members, however, number at around 120,' Bowo said. There are elementary school students and retirees among group members, but the majority is between 30 and 50 years of age.

Members share information on merchandise and information about Star Trek. 'We give advice on making costumes ' which are an important means of expression between our members. We share clothing designs and recommend tailors,' he said.

Indo-StarTrek has no rigid membership requirements, unlike some other fan communities which impose membership fee.

'We operate as a family, meaning we will work together and chip in every time we organize an event,' Bowo said. The group also relied on donations and sponsors, he said.

In 2009, to mark the release of eponymous Star Trek reboot feature film, Indo-StarTrek secured support from a major telecommunications provider and filled the Imax theater in Taman Mini Indonesia with members clad in Star Trek costumes.

The group also held another screening event for the reboot sequel, Star Trek: Into Darkness in Gandaria, South Jakarta, on May 18.

To maintain the group's spirit and keep momentum, Indo-StarTrek hold regular activities, including bi-monthly screenings and Artemis online Star Trek-based role-playing game sessions.

Bowo was optimistic that the group would live long and prosper, as Mr. Spock would say.

'More than just a love for Star Trek, we have found companionship here in our group. It's a stronger driving force.'

' Photos courtesy of Indo-StarTrek community