Melinda's Star Trek Las Vegas Convention Report / Aug 9-12, 2007
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melinda’s star trek las vegas convention report / aug 9-12, 2007 the las vegas star trek convention was the first large scale convention that i have attended. from what i’ve read, there were close to 4,000 fans in attendance. what a remarkable testament to this beloved franchise. it’s been over 20 years since i went to a convention, so i was more than a little excited for this big trip. wednesday, august 8th my good friend, karen, and i arrived in vegas on wednesday night and pre-registered. thank goodness for pre-registration the night before the convention because the lines the next day to register were ridiculously long! when we first walked through the large convention area, giant star trek banners of the various crews in the star trek series were hanging on the walls. one very large banner had all the guests pictured that would be appearing at the convention. after grabbing a bite to eat, it was on to the “chocolate on the edge of forever” welcoming party where they had all kinds of chocolate goodies. tim russ (tuvok from voyager) was performing with his band as the entertainment. i really had no idea that tim russ was a singer and a guitar player, and i was impressed with his talent. after he ended his set, he stayed and signed copies of his cd that he was selling and graciously posed for pictures with fans for quite some time. it was a very casual setting. while tim russ signed, there was also a karaoke contest going on, and the fans had a lot of fun with that. i was almost persuaded to participate in karaoke, but i’m a chicken when it comes to getting up in front of people, especially to sing! there are basically three main rooms that the convention takes place in. 1. the main auditorium (coined the gene roddenberry theatre) - this is the large room where all the guests speak throughout the day, and where the autograph sessions are done. 2. vendors exhibit area (called the deforest kelley marketplace) which is the dealer’s room where all kinds of memorabilia is for sell and where the photo ops are done. 3. secondary programs in the james doohan theatre - this is where all the secondary speakers and other events take place (ie: auction, blooper reels, etc.) i thought it was a nice touch to name the vendor’s exhibit area and the secondary program room after deforest kelley & jimmy doohan. i appreciated that. there are so many things scheduled at this convention that you really have to pick and choose what are the most important events you want to attend. it’s a bit overwhelming. i did not see every guest star that spoke, but i’ll give you a few highlights of the ones i did see, and other events that took place each day of the convention. during each guest’s appearance, they had two microphones set up on either side of the stage where you could go up and ask questions. you have assigned seats, and we were sitting in about the 6th row but way over on the far right side, near the wall. i took pictures with my digital camera, but the pictures are pretty grainy because i was so far away. thursday, aug. 9 th tim russ (tuvok on voyager) was the first guest i saw. he has a multitude of talents - acting, directing, singing, publishing. he told us about some of his projects. one of the coolest things was when he showed us a trailer from the internet production “star trek: of god’s and men.” this is being put together by volunteer fans of star trek, at their own expense, and it is very professional. if you have not checked out this project, go to www.startrekofgodsandmen.com. i think it’s pretty neat. it was cool to see it on the two large screens in the main auditorium. to me, this kind of project keeps the excitement going for star trek, especially when there is no current series on television. after visiting the dealer’s room (which i walked many miles in by the time the convention was over!), i went back to see catherine hicks speak about her experiences when she filmed “star trek iv: the voyage home.” she came across as very sweet and sincere, and she said that all the cast members were so nice to her and treated her like part of the family. of course, catherine hicks was also on “7th heaven” for 11 years, so she is well known for that role too. next up to speak was levar burton, who talked about being a part of both st:next gen and “roots” and how he feels like the people he worked with on both of those projects are like family to him. he was very gracious in complimenting his wife and daughter and expressing how grateful he is every day for having them in his life and for all he‘s been given. he is also a director and producer, most recently doing commercials. i’ve never seen levar at a convention, and i really liked him. last to speak on thursday was gates mcfadden, who still has that gorgeous long red hair. she faked us out at the beginning, sitting down at the piano and saying she had created something special for us. everybody got quiet, waiting. she hit a few notes and then said that it would have been really great if she only knew how to play the piano! too funny. the funniest story she told was when she had to go to an emergency room in hawaii because her appendix was rupturing. when the doctor came in, he exclaimed, “dr. crusher!!” this doctor operated on her, and on the follow up, he was treating her like a fellow doctor, explaining all the details of her operation to her! gates was just a joy to listen to and was very funny. i missed the last speaker, wil wheaton, in the secondary auditorium after gates spoke in the main theater. my friend, karen, went to his talk, and she said that he was so entertainingly funny. she said she laughed so hard! i think he read some excerpts out of the book he just wrote where he reviewed some of the episodes from the next gen but with his funny twist on them. i actually had seen wil in the dealer’s room earlier that afternoon, signing his books, and i took his picture. he was very nice, and you can tell he enjoys doing the conventions. i wish i would have seen his talk, but i had to prepare for my next event of the evening! after a full day at the convention on thursday, i made a non trek diversion to see my favorite singer, barry manilow, in the hilton showroom. i’ve been a barry manilow fan for years, and i’ve seen him quite a few times in concert. if you have never seen him live in person, you should. he is one of the best entertainers/showman to see live. you’ll leave the show smiling. i don’t think people know just how talented a musician barry is. i think they only see him as that “geeky guy back from the 70’s.” he’s a lot more than that, and i was happy to see this particular show “music & passion” for the first time. friday, august 10 george takei, walter koenig, and nichelle nichols took the stage separately on friday. i have a warm place in my heart for these three because they are the ones i’ve seen speak at other conventions i’ve been to in the past, and the original crew is still my favorite. george is definitely the most talkative of the bunch - very friendly with the fans, very positive. he talked about the first time way back when he got a call to come to a gathering, and he said, “you do know the show is cancelled?” he thanked the fans for 40 years of support. his current projects include his recurring role in “heroes” and he is in the next episode of “star trek: new voyages” which is another internet show. there was a fan who asked why he had not “come out” sooner, and he basically talked about trying to protect his chosen profession as an actor, because there are so many other reasons why actors get rejected, and he didn’t want to give them another reason. he said he is working on another autobiography that will now include his experience of growing up as a gay man. walter is a quiet, reflective type of person. he has been busy writing, producing, and directing his new film called, “inalienable.” it was awesome when he showed us part of a trailer from the movie, and the fans were very enthusiastic about it. he’s not sure about how it will be released yet, but they are working on it. he also shared with us about his visit to thailand, to help bring awareness to the public of the trouble going on there, specifically in burma. he talked about some of the terrible things going on there, and that his visit there was a very significant part of his life right now. he encouraged us to go to his website and read about his trip there. nichelle spoke that afternoon. before she came out, we were treated to a fan video about uhura, and this fan won an award for her video.