At least one in 10 fans of the cult science fiction series "Star Trek" is a maladjusted figure whose addiction is obsessive, researchers said Wednesday.
"Trekkers" questioned at two British conventions revealed they dream about its characters, argue about the plots and spend up to $6,000 a year on "Star Trek" memorabilia.Some showed irritability and withdrawal symptoms "when insufficient "Star Trek" activities are encountered," sociologists from the University of Northumbria found.
Obsessive addicts felt they were boldly going where few had gone before, but researchers feared many took Captain Kirk's instruction of "Beam Me Up Scotty" too literally and suggested they were on a different planet.
The tale of the Starship Enterprise was premiered on U.S. television in 1966. The series, starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, then spawned a series of full-length movies as well as a cartoon and a follow-up - "Star Trek: The Next Generation."