As wonderful and amazing as most Star Trek fans are, there will always be some wacky people who get too attached to the series. I’m never not thinking about the strange connections between the Heaven’s Gate cult and Star Trek. Its most direct connection is that Thomas Nichols, the brother of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, was a member of the Heaven’s Gate cult. I don’t think that it’s true that Marshall Applewhite, the cult’s founder, actually used any content from Star Trek to lure his followers to their ultimate demise. As far as my research goes, he just liked the show. Apparently, the cult would frequently post online on Star Trek fan forums, making them more involved than your average Star Trek fan. A cult obsessed with space travel and aliens would inevitably be tuning into episodes of The Next Generation with some frequency. 

But why should we dwell on the tragedies of the 90s? We’re all regular Star Trek fans who may sink some of our disposable incomes into the occasional Funko Pop, but we aren’t going to risk life and limb for this fandom. If that describes you pretty well, these Star Trek memes are for you.