So you’re curious to know a bit more about me, eh? That’s pretty nosy of you!
Well, my name’s Dennis, and I’m an independent media critic, reviewer, and commentator. You’re on my website – Trekking with Dennis – where I write about a variety of entertainment topics: the video games industry, the Star Trek franchise, Star Wars, and the wide world of geekdom in general.
A long time ago, I was a professional writer. I spent close to a decade in the video games industry, working with several small and larger companies. No, I’m not telling you which ones! My focus in those days was primarily on marketing and web content.
Having spent a while on “the inside,” I like to think I have a bit of a different point of view when discussing video games and gaming in general. I’m not a developer, and I was never involved on the technical or programming sides of game development. But I worked in the industry, I know folks who held those kinds of roles, and I saw the game development process firsthand. I often got to play early preview builds of unreleased titles, and I came to learn a lot about what goes into making a video game.
Star Trek is my other big passion. I first came to the Star Trek franchise in the early 1990s, when The Next Generation was on the air here in the UK. The first episode I can definitely remember watching all the way through was Season 2’s The Royale, and from there, I quickly became a huge Trekkie! I followed The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager during their original runs, and went back to re-watch The Original Series, the films, and everything else I’d missed, too.
In 2019, as the decade was drawing to a close, I decided that the time was right for me to carve out a small slice of the internet, a space where I could share my thoughts and opinions on some of these nerdy entertainment topics in my own way, and at my own pace. That was the original purpose of this website, and it remains so today. This is a side-project that I run in my spare time; a space where I can talk about my favourite franchises and geeky topics without word limits or other constraints.
I don’t set out to be a contrarian, nor do I “hate-watch” films or TV shows on purpose. If you see a negative review here – which you will, sometimes – it’s because I genuinely hoped to enjoy the title, but for whatever reason(s) it left me disappointed. If I don’t think I’m going to enjoy something, I almost always choose to skip it – and I can be pretty brutal when it comes to switching off a film, game, or TV show that I’m not enjoying! Life’s too short to waste it on unenjoyable media, after all.
My mental and physical health have both been poor for a long time. As an awkward, geeky kid, I sought solace in Star Trek and the optimistic depiction of the future they provided. And as my abilities to do basic things like leave the house have worsened, I find myself escaping ever more to fantasy worlds depicted in media. That sounds more depressing than I mean it to; what I want to say is that I find these things to be incredibly helpful, especially on my lowest days.
And in a way, this website is an extension of that. Being able to write about the fictional settings that interest me the most is an excuse to spend more time in those worlds, to delve ever more deeply into the lore and the minute details that make them so engaging. When I sit down to write about Star Trek, or some other fantasy world, that’s really just another way of engaging with it and spending even more time there than just watching a film or an episode of TV would normally allow.
It’d probably be helpful to share a few of my other favourite films and franchises, eh?
Aside from Star Trek and Star Wars, which I’ve already mentioned, here are a few of my favourites: on TV, we have everything from forgotten sci-fi shows like Space Precinct, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Terra Nova to certified classics like ER, The Expanse, and Game of Thrones. At the cinema, I adored The Neverending Story and Flight of the Navigator as a kid, before graduating to more grown-up sci-fi titles like Alien. One of my earliest memories is reading The Hobbit with my father – so the Lord of the Rings trilogy is also a huge favourite of mine.
When it comes to video games, I first picked up a joystick at a kids’ club in the ’80s, and the earliest game I have a solid memory of playing is a football (soccer) title that I’m pretty sure was the Commodore 64 version of International Soccer. In the early ’90s, I got my own video games console for the first time: a SNES. Since then, some of my favourite games have been: Super Mario 64, Shenmue, Knights of the Old Republic, Half-Life 2, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Civilization VI, Red Dead Redemption II, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
As you can see, I’m not some hipster seeking out the most obscure films and games I can find. And I don’t subscribe to the notion that anything “mainstream” is somehow bad or devoid of value. On the contrary: I tend to find that, if a film TV show, or video game has picked up a lot of positive attention… that’s usually because it’s good!
Here on Trekking with Dennis, I don’t enable comments on my articles or posts. There is a form you can use to contact me in an emergency – but it’s really only there if there’s an urgent copyright request or business issue. I’m an introverted and not especially sociable person, and I don’t really have the time to spend keeping a comments section clean and ship-shape! There are plenty of spaces online where folks can debate and converse about these topics… but this isn’t one of them.
I usually end my articles with a little disclaimer about how it’s just my opinion! And I also have a piece where I discuss, in a bit more detail, the difference between subjectivity and objectivity. I always want folks to know that everything I say is just that: subjective. And it’s totally okay if we disagree or don’t hold the same opinions on a film, video game, or TV show. There ought to be enough room in fan communities and social spaces online for polite discussions and differences of opinion that don’t descend into toxicity and argument.
As a final note, I know what it’s like to deal with mental health issues. If you’re struggling, or if you know someone who is, help is available. You’re just a Google search, chat, or phone call away. Please don’t suffer in silence. I sincerely wish you the very best with whatever you’re going through.
Thanks for checking out this page and learning a bit more about me. I hope you’ll stick around and continue to geek out with me about Star Trek, gaming, and the wide world of geeky entertainment.
Trekking with Dennis 