Enterprise: The Star Trek Appreciation Society of Victoria

Enterprise in the local newspaper, March 1995. Fans: Derek Screen, Judith McGinness, Veronica McCabe

Fan Club
Name:	Enterprise: The Star Trek Appreciation Society of Victoria
Dates:	1993-2002
Founder(s):	Derek Screen
Leadership:
Country based in:	Australia
Focus:	Star Trek
External Links:	website (last updated May 29, 2001)
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Enterprise logo from the website

Enterprise was an Australian Star Trek fan club that became an active and leading media SF club in Victoria. It ran monthly meetings in Melbourne, and its newsletter was The Communicator.

Enterprise was a member of Multiverse Science Fiction Group, and through this network, club leaders helped to create everything from day events and conventions to charity functions.

Introduction

Derek Screen, the founder and president of Enterprise, reported in 1994 (transcribed verbatim):

Enterprise is the Star Trek Appreciation Society of Victoria (Inc.), is a fan club for fans of all forms of Star Trek, from the Original (Classic) series, to The Next Generation, to Deep Space Nine, Voyager, the movies, books, and everything else pertaining to the Star Trek Universe.

Enterprise was formed, like a lot of clubs, from by breaking away from an existing club back in October 1993. It quickly got onto its feet and produced its first club newsletter, put out membership forms, selected a charity or two, and was away...

Enterprise is a non-profit club that runs according to a member-agreed upon constitution, with a small committee of volunteers who are elected every year. The club exists to raise awareness of Star Trek in the community, dispelling those "oh, you're a Star Trek nut" misconceptions. We raise funds for our nominated charities through raffles, competitions and donations (see we are nice people!!), and we run a club for the members enabling them to participate in fun, entertaining and informative activities, with the focus being on participation and the forging of new friendships.

Enterprise meets every month, on the fourth Saturday of the month... At these meetings, we will organise activities such as Costuming and Writing workshops, Starship design competitions, Space related days, quizzes and Rank exams, as well as other family fun and games and much more.

Some History and Activities

Here are a number of the activities that Enterprise have held (or has played a major part in) over the past few weeks/months... years!!!.

2000:

• Annual Inter-Club Bowling Competition - July 22nd 2000 What a busy afternoon! There were a total of 110 people who arrived at Chadstone from about 12.30pm and altogether about 94 people took part in the bowling. Fortunately the Starwalking club did not retain the trophy, but this time Enterprise did not win either! First place went to The Babylon 5 Club; Second place to Starwalking, Third place to Enterprise and fourth place to The Dr Who Club. (members of the rebel "Bill" club found themselves bowling for Enterprise :-) ). After the games, 61 of the remaining people turned out to Pancake Parlour (with a few rebels going to the Pizza Hut!) for a meal and 50 stayed on to see a movie at the re-furbished Hoyts Chadstone. A great day was had by all.
• AGM and Prime Directive Trial - May 27th 2000 On a record wet and cold day, we held the Annual General Meeting with reports from the committee on memberships, finances, social events and general club business. During the electrions we welcomed two new committee members who we look forward to working with. As part of the AGM we put on trial the UFP's "Prime Directive General Order #1" and judges heard (with much passion) arguments for and against keeping it - there seemed to be many violations by several starfleet officers recently. The final decison was that the directive should stay as a guide and but the United Federation of Planets will needs to update it to reflect the times as so many discretionary decisions are required by officers and are not adequately covered in the text. A very cold and wet day which was made tolerable by Chef Tracy's range of culinary delights in the ship's galley - we had sausages pies and toasted sandwiches. A few new members attended and really enjoyed themselves (one even found Enterprise via the webpage!!! - webmaster)
• Multiverse - A Day with Nicole DeBoer - May 20th 2000 Enterprise (as part of Multiverse) hosted a one day convention with Nicole DeBoer (Ezri Dax - STDS9 Season 7). She was a great guest who talked about her experiences on the set and other SF shows (she has been labelled the "SciFi Girl" by her acting colleagues as she seemed to always get SF jobs) For full reviews of the day, pleasae see the Multiverse Page.
• Good Friday Appeal Collecting Day - April 21st 2000 What a great turnout on this day. about 20 people turned up for the walk down to the collecting corner from Bourke Street and throughout the day we had more than 35 people! After a few slight hitches (and having to go and find the tent) we set up cover for the workers and Tracy was in charge of the BBQ, and even though Sam had hurt her knee (she does not like attention at all!) she provided good secretarial assistance. Well, they did forecast showers and we only had a couple of light sprinkles - whereas elsewhere in Melbourne there were downpours! Boy, were we lucky! Many thanks to all that assisted with the day and made it one of the best record-breaking days of collecting! We collected a total of $10,355.45 - we just need to beat it next year!
• The Enterprise Film Awards - February 26th 2000 This day was a very enjoyable one, despite the unusually humid weather, and everyone (nearly everyone) got involved when the backdrop sheets were laid on the floor and people began to design the panels and viewscreens of the bridge. The aim of the day was to decorate the backdrop sheets and then put them up on a cheap-and-tacky mock-bridge set and then to get into groups and attempt to break the records of the fastest film ever made! Well, who really cared about quality? We only had two groups that were willing to talke part (of about 5-6 peoplel each) and each one was issued with a script outlining a short scene from one of the Star Trek TV series or films. They then had to work among themselves on how they should do it! Now we know why they have directors!!!! The first group had the disadvantage (they were first) and did an interesting interpretation of the STVOY "Threshold" scene. This was taped with two takes and then the second group had a go! These budding over-actors tried a scene from STTNG "Conundrum" (?) and ad-libbed quite a bit - clearly this group was having a good time! Unfortunately we had sound problems on the cameras (the hall was echoey) and the microphone was not enough to clearly hear the dialogue, but everyone seemed to have a good time and if we do a film in the future, we will know to break up the task and plan ahead!!!
• Beach Day (The B5 Club Challenge!) - January 22nd 2000 Well, this is the very first time that a meeting has ben CANCELLED! The weather was not favourable at all with nearly all 10-15 people who turned up being almost blown away and sandblasted! Hopefully this will not happen again, but who really can predict the weather up to a month in advance? The weathermen cannot even get it right a few days before! Hopefully next year we will reinstate the sandcastle challenge and of course Enterprise will win!!

1999:

• Sailing Day on the 'Enterprize' - 27th November 1999 Checking the forcast a few days before, we realised that it was going to be a day of good weather for an outside Enterprise event - what a surprise! This day went very well with about 50 people boarding the St Kilda Ferry for a calm trip across the bay to Williamstown. Passing on the way were the berths of a few visiting US naval ships. After we disembarked the ferry and met a few other people and we proceeded to make our way to the replica ship. We filled the first trip with about 58 people! Ship was great and and with the crew moved away from the pier under sail power. They really have done an incredible amount of work on the ship and it looks fantastic! After about 45 minutes on the bay, the crew had to return to the pier with the backup motors running - that really is the only way thay can get a certain number of trips in per day and not rely on the weather. About 8 people boarded the ship for the next trip and the others got to wander around the shops and visit the naval museum. After a choppy trip back to St Kilda it was time to depart. It was great to finish the final away-mission of the year on a high!
• Bad Taste Trek Day - 23rd October, 1999 This was a relatively quiet meeting with discussions ranging from 'What is the worst episode and why?', 'What is the worst or tacky collectable?', 'What have they produced to rip of the Star Trek fans?'. To spark off the discussions on the worst episodes, clips from the following episodes were shown (ie just enough to remind you what they were like): TOS's "Spock's Brain", TNG's "Shades of Gray",DS9's"If Wishes Were Horses" and VOY's"Threshold". With only about 15 people turning up during the course of the day - we are putting it doewn to the newsletter (which has been delayed and hence could not remind people) and the fact that all the local festivals were going on at the same time (Lygon St, OctoberFest etc). It was a enjoyable day none-the-less.
• Shore Leave at the Melbourne Show - 26th September 1999Well, this proved to be rather quiet day where the club committee turned up, but no-one else arrived even after 45 minutes past the starting time. The three club reps great day anyway. Highlights included: the animal nursery, the dairy section and finding the cheapest showbag possible (unfortunately no Star Trek one this year) and two brave souls took a trip on the Enterprise ride - now we know what Kirk meant when he said 'Warp Speed'!
• Star Trek Day - 28th August, 1999 After responding to members' requests, we had our first in a series of discussion days. On this day we reviewed Tuvix and had a guest speaker who looked at why this episode could only be possible in the Star Trek universe. We also discussed what makes a good Star Trek episode and selected the episodes Yesterday's Enterprise, City on the Edge of Forever and One Little Shipas possible examples of these. Despite the dark and wet day we had around 30 people turn up to the meeting who also partook of the offerings from Ten Forward (thanks Tracy and Sam!) and also glanced at the merchandise men's clearance tables.
• Annual Beach Day - 23rd January, 1999 After listening to the forcasts several days earlier, the day turned out to be sunny and warm - despite the killer wind! About 15 people turned out and had a relaxing time and several even braved the elements and went swimming - actually they said the water temperature was 20 degrees! With the number of people it was decided that the the sandcastle challenge be pushed back till next year - it would not have been a 'true challenge'.

1998:

• Star Trek Insurrection Preview (December): What a turn-out! 967 people attended the screening of the film in two cinemas at Village Crown and we made over $2200 for the Royal Children's Hospital. Both aiudiences had a great time and the general reponse was that they have may have broken the 'odd film curse'. It has action, humour, the prime directive being broken and conspiracies - what more could any ST fan hope for? Due to a few minor problems, Planet Hollywood were not expecting many people to turn up after the film and had to turn away a number of people due to space. On behalf of the clubs I do apologise for this, but it was a Planet Hollywood problem. Many thanks to all who attended and who assisted along the way to make it such a great night.
• Mini Golf Day (September): Well despite the rain that determined to turn people away, the day cleared at around 11.30am and about 22 people turned up to the golf 'range' to hit the daylights out of golf balls. The venue supplied a small snack after the first round and then continued the day with two more round just as the sun decided to disappear. Most people found that their best game was the first one, and as the day went on, they lost concentration and just had fun with the rest of them! A great time was had by all. You missed it? Well, you will have to wait for the next one.
• The Great Star Trek Debate (August):(review to come)
• Enterprise VS DWCV Bowling Day (July):We cannot believe this! This is the first time that the Doctor Who people cheated and subsequently won at the bowling. Well, at least they get to store the trophy for the next year. The DWCV president (also a newly elected Enterprise commitee member) could not decide which 'side' to play on and chose to defect to the other side! Oh well, we have time to perfect our skill (or lack of) for next year!
• Dark Zone Day (July):Well, what can we say - we LOST! In true Star Trek spirit, Enterprise members practised the code of non-violence in the "Starship-Troopers-Combat-Simulator-Like" environment, and despite having several handicaps, did not even begin to threaten the ever-experienced Doctor Who members. I suppose it did not help that they had two of the state champions on their side. As they say, we can always inprove!
• Annual Winter Olympics (June):What a great day! We had over 60 people attending and trying their hands at events ranging from codebreaking, shuttle crash and survival course, warp core breach relay, slot car starships, and of course the great starship race. Unfortunately the Maquis (winners of the past 3 years) did not compete, so this time, there was TRUE competition!
• Melbourne Science Fiction Crawl (May):Well, those who thought they had seen all the stores where you can buy SF merchandise, have now had their eyes opened! About 20 members walked around Melbourne for about 4 hours in search of the 'most interesting collectable', to seek out the most unexpected bargain, and to boldly wear out their shoes as they have never done so before. Fortunately it did not rain and it was great to see new members getting into the collectable 'bug'. Richard will be proud!
• AGM (April):Many thanks to the outgoing committee and a warm welcome to the new committee for 1998. Your team are: Derek Screen, Sharon Tapner, Alex Kapko, Rod Tyrell, Sam Dare, Richard Nolan and David Barker. We still greatly appreciate any assistance from you, the members in running events and planning. If you wish to help, let us know.
• Royal Childrens' Hospital Good Friday Appeal: This year, Enterprise raised over $7,500 for the Royal Children’s Hospital during the Good Friday Appeal (beating our total of $6000 for last year). Well done to all who helped. This was boosted by another $2,500 we raised at the final Grease concert in Melbourne and all 32 people saw the concert for free as a thank-you.
• Hall Meeting (March):Painting SF backdrops and general discussion.
• Multiverse 3 Convention (February 14-15th): See the link for reviews of this event.
• Annual Beach Day (January):Well, I cannot say much about this day as I turned up to the beach twice during the day. Once at the beginning for about 10 minutes and the second when everyone was packing up! From all reports it was a great day and it did not even rain!

OK, so you have wondered what else Enterprise has done? Here are a few that you missed over the past few years....

1997:

• Xmas Picnic (December).
• Car Rally and Search and Rescue Orienteering. (November)
• Games Day and Ten-pin Bowling (October)
• A Night with Patrick Stewart (August):(held in conjunction with Multiverse Inc) This was a great night with over 800 people turning up to the Hoyts cinemas to see Patrick Stewart who was willing to have a 'chat' with the Star Trek fans while he was in Australia mking the mini-series Moby Dick.
• Star Trek and the History of Science Fiction (May):
• Royal Childrens' Hospital Good Friday Appeal (April): This year, Enterprise raised just under $6000 for the Royal Children’s Hospital during the Good Friday Appeal. We did this although we didn’t have quite as many people as last year turn up to help. The day started with a brisk walk to the Southbank and City road corner to loosen up the muscles, and then we went straight into it. Thank you to all those who came to help out and lend moral support. I hope to see you ALL next year.
• Ballarat Away Mission (March):The Away Mission to Ballarat was run in conjunction with Red Squadron, * The Battlestar Galactica Fan Club over the weekend of March 7 - 10. Overall, 20 odd people turned up for what turned out to be a great weekend of Videos, Mine exploration, Abseiling, Garden walks, Survival courses, Water Pistol fights, Role playing, computer games, and jigsaw puzzles, amongst other things. The only think we could have done without - the jigsaw puzzle (now safely locked away from human hands), was a killer. Apart from that, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

1996:

• Christmas Party (December):The Christmas Party was great fun (despite being a warm night) and people enjoyed the range of activities
• Star Trek: First Contact (December):How about the new film Star Trek: First Contact? A great improvement on the last one and a lot less inconsistencies. The club night had around 950 people attend (combined from Enterprise, Austrek and the 1701 clubs), and was great fun. Fans now know HOW to watch a Star Trek film. Want to see it again?
• Multiverse II (August):The Multiverse SF Convention held on the weekend of 7/9/96-8/9/96 was a great success. Keep looking at the Multiverse page for reports and news on another coming in February 1998.
• Star Trek 30th (August):Did you enjoy the 30th Anniversary Ball? The night was great and the decorations were simply stunning. If anyone would like to write a review, please send it in.
• Star Trek Marathon (August): About 190-200 people turned up and Hoyts Chadstone seemed very pleased. It was the first time that all seven movies had been played back-to-back in Australia. Just wait until they have eight movies!

Gallery

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  Ad for Enterprise, from SF Fan Resource Book, December 1994, p. 62