Star Trek - Las Vegas
by Philip Chien
The 2008 official Las Vegas "Star Trek" convention featured over 70 actors who appeared in at least one of the many "Star Trek" series, from the original 1966 television series to the upcoming 2009 movie. They ranged from minor actors who only appeared in a single episode to superstar director and actor Leonard Nimoy. Each of the five series and ten movies were represented by a handful of stars. Some of the actors are retired or moved on to new careers, others have active acting careers, and a few make most of their income from appearances at science fiction conventions.
Some of the actors appeared individually, others appeared in groups. For example, one panel featured actors from the original series, one from each of the three seasons. Another panel featured the "Boys from Enterprise" - Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker), Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather), and Dominic Keating (Malcom Reed). In most cases the panel members interacted well with each other, although in several cases each actor tried to take as much of the limelight as possible.
One especially enjoyable duo was Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and George Takei (Sulu) from the original series. The pair have been personal friends for over four decades and clearly very comfortable with each other. Takei was trying to tell a story about how he met martial arts expert Bruce Lee while Lee was filming the "Green Hornet" TV series but Nichols kept interrupting. Ultimately the two stars told totally separate stories simultaneously to the great laughter and applause from the audience.
Rene Auberjonois (Odo) and Armin Shimerman (Quark) discussed the Quark/Odo relationship during "Deep Space Nine" as well as their other roles. Armin Shimerman played Judge Brian Hooper on several episodes of Rene Auberjonois's series "Boston Legal," well after "Deep Space Nine" went off the air. A member of the "Boston Legal" crew wasn't aware that the actors already had an on screen adversarial relationship for seven years and commented after one scene was filmed, "My god you guys did that scene like you were playing it for years!"
The funniest actor was Garrett Wang (Ensign Kim on "Voyager"). He mimed having a knife stabbed in his back when he was reminded that Harry Kim was the only member of the Voyager crew who never got promoted. Wang told a story about how he met a real Harry Kim who was an ensign in the Navy. The real Harry Kim was constantly teased about "Voyager" while the series was on. Wang noted, "We're the same!" but the real Kim replied, "No, I got promoted!"
Wang acknowledged that there's still a lot of prejudice against Asian-American male roles in Hollywood, primarily being limited to the three Gs - "Gangsters, Gooks, and Geeks." Wang noted that even when famous Asian actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yung-Fat appear in Hollywood movies they're action heroes - not leading men. He said, "They're kicking booty, but they're not kissing booty." He added that in the "Voyager" episode "Fallen Son" Harry Kim gets to kiss three separate women, which is about one sixth of all of the romantic scenes Asian men have had in Hollywood movies and television!
"Enterprise" executive producer Manny Coto encouraged fans to watch his show on HDNet if they have high definition television sets. While high definition certainly made the episodes look better it doesn't make the stories any better. Apparently Coto wasn't aware that couple of months earlier HDNet made the decision to remove "Enterprise" from its schedule, replacing it with additional episodes of "Smallville."
The highlight of the convention was Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock from the original series, appearing with Zachary Quinto who plays Spock in the 2009 movie. While they were under confidentiality agreements and could not reveal plot details about the movie they kept the fans entertained. Quinto verified that his contract has an option for two additional movies so if the decision is made for additional movies he's committed to play Spock again if the studio wishes. He promised a fanatical fan of the original series that the new movie would be true to the original series while also expanding the concepts to bring in new fans. When the fan said he was worried about the second part of that phrase Quinto made the flat statement, "I can promise you that you will like the new movie." The movie, titled just "Star Trek", opens in May 2009.
Quinto is best known for playing the villain Sylar in the television series "Heroes" and many fans said that they were really creeped out by his role. Quinto ran off the stage toward one fan which really frightened her.
The fans had the opportunity to ask the stars questions if there was enough time and many were enthusiastic. One ten-year-old named James won the hearts of the fans and stars but it was clear many of his questions were carefully rehearsed with his parents ahead of time.
Unfortunately many of the fans forget that the stars are actors - not the parts they play and can't seem to comprehend the difference. Many of the stars are sick of answering the same questions again and again, but some have a sense of humor and have come up with amusing responses. One of the most common questions Walter Koeing (Chekov) gets asked is how could Khan remember him in the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" when Chekov wasn't in the episode "Space Seed." Koeing explains, "Chekov was on the Enterprise, although you didn't see him because he had dysentery. He was in the bathroom in sickbay puking his guts when Khan kept knocking on the door because he needed to go. Finally Chekov finished his business and opened the door. Khan grabbed him by the collar and screamed, ‘I will remember your face!'"
Creation Entertainment was founded in 1971 by two 14 year-olds from Queens, New York, Adam Malin and Gary Berman. They've become one of the leaders for science fiction and comic book conventions, in particular "Star Trek." Their conventions are primarily scheduled shows - you come to see stars talk about their TV series and pay extra if you wish to get their autographs or photos with them. There's also a dealer's room where companies sell a wide variety of licensed products, collectibles, and unofficial (not legally licensed) products and about a dozen stars from a variety of science fiction movies and television series sell copies of their photos. Each night there's an optional (extra cost) party where the stars mingle with the guests. A first-class Gold ticket, plus the parties, autographs, and photo sessions could set you back a couple of thousand dollars - even excluding the cost of travelling to the convention (At least one fan came all the way from Australia). Unlike most fan run conventions there's very little additional programming panels or other activities.
Fans got to see a preview of upcoming "Star Trek" products including an extremely impressive lightweight radio controlled airplane shaped like the Enterprise. "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's son Eugene and his partners showed a preview of "Trek Nation", a documentary about the "Star Trek" phenomena over the ages.
One bittersweet tone was felt through the convention - it was held in the Las Vegas Hilton, the home of the "Star Trek Experience" attraction. The attraction was scheduled to close permanently just a couple of weeks after the convention. Next year's Las Vegas Star Trek convention will be held in the Hilton again, but alternative arrangements are being made for the banquet and some other events which were held in the "Star Trek Experience" in the past.
All photos copyright 2008 Philip Chien.
Links
Website for next year's Creation "Star Trek" convention in Las Vegas.
Order Star Trek DVDs
from Amazon.com
About the author
Philip Chien has been a "Star Trek" fan since the early 1970s.
copyright 2008 neatinformation.com. All Rights Reserved.
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