Star Trek 50th Anniversary Las Vegas Convention - 2016/08/06

And predictably, yesterday was awesome. Again. This whole convention has been a deeply spiritual experience for me. I typically hate belonging to clubs, and in fact go to obnoxiously extraordinary lengths to avoid them, but being a Trekkie surrounded by fellows Trekkies has been wonderful. And our mutual love for those that make Star Trek has been like a warm blanket on a cold night. It's been beautiful. I am sad that today is the end.

But today has hardly even started! Here's those pics from two days ago that I promised!

So, the last two days, like today, have been heavy panel days, so I didn't get out and explore nearly as much. It's been perfectly structured, honestly. The first couple days, we did some panels and lotta exploring, and the last 2-3 days, it's been watching/listening to some of our favorite people that make Star Trek.

Yesterday's recap:

The Tribute to Matt Jeffires was great. It was really cool hearing from production folks how he did what he did (design the Enterprise, its bridge, and more), and how he worked with Gene to do it. What a great presentation.

The Women in Star Trek Panel was awesome. It was Kate Mulgrew, some feminist bloggers, and a lady volcanologist that is also a contributor to trekmovie.com. They didn't all agree on things, and discussed it live on stage like responsible adults. 

After that was TNG Part 3, which was WILD. Frakes, Sirtis, and Dorn. I felt bad for Michael Dorn because he didn't get nearly enough questions. Frakes got almost all of them. However, the nuthouse Frakes and Sirtis presented was hilarious and appreciated. He played up an almost Shatner-like persona while she lectured the audience on what questions to ask and which not to. It was very funny.

And Walter Koenig came out and talked for a while. He was a bit quieter, but it was very interesting getting to hear the history of TOS from his perspective.

After that, it was Shatner time. He was definitely Bill Shatner, which just a hint of a little more humility brought about by experience. And he was great talking to my oldest boy.

Then, it was time for Count Bakula. Scott, being a fellow St. Louisan, was, as expected, gracious and funny. I really could've used more time with him.

And Kate Mulgrew might have been the highlight of the day. Voyager was not my favorite series, Janeway was not my favorite captain, but she might be my favorite actor on the show. She is amazingly well-spoken, and projects such a sense of balance. And she has wicked comedic timing.

We closed with a really cool Borg makeup and history presentation from Michael Westmore. That was really neat.

Here's some pics of the day:

OK, one last time, we're heading to the con! I'll try and get today's write-up/pics up this afternoon before going to bed! Thanks for reading!

-Blaine

Star Trek 50th Anniversary Las Vegas Convention - 2016/08/04

I finally got pictures uploaded last night, even if video is an absurd struggle on the (free) hotel wifi.

Yesterday was amazing. Aron Eisenberg literally moved me to tears, Whoopi Goldberg was funny and charming, and Melanie Smith provided some wonderful insight into one of my favorite characters, Ziyal.

First, here's some pics from the last couple days:

^ Dominic Keating

^ Nicole deBoer

^ Connor Trinneer

^ Garrett Wang

^ Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman

^ Aron Eisenberg

^ Melanie Smith

^ Martha Hackett

Yesterday, we started out with Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman from 'Where No Man Has Gone Before.' Both of them were very funny and far more accomplished than I'd ever realized. They also couldn't have been more different. Where she was all class and utterly professional, he's that friend of your dad's that has multiple ex-wives and stopped giving a fuck a long time ago. I found him funny but didn't really like him up until the moment he started talking about his daughter with an intense pride.

Following that, Aron Eisenberg and Max Grodenchik came out in full Ferengi costume and makeup and delivered an incredible performance. It was both funny, as they riffed on what a great Ferengi Donald Trump would be, and moving, as Eisenberg talked about the fan support for his kidney transplant, as well as how moved he was by his character Nog's arc throughout the show.

As an aside, something I always loved about my favorite Star Trek show, Deep Space Nine, was how deep the cast was, in terms of both regulars and recurring, but that show really did lean on their recurring characters, and even devoted entire shows to them. I loved it so much.

Following that, we grabbed a quick bite and then took our youngest to the youth Star Trek trivia. He bounced out relatively quickly in all three rounds, which surprised me. He knows the super-deep hardcore trivia, but missed stuff like 'does Captain Picard like earl grey tea, hot?' I think he's cursed with my need to overthink everything.

After that, we watched some of the TOS cosplay group photos, and there was some amazing stuff.

And after that, we hurried back to the Nimoy Theatre for Whoopi Goldberg, which was immensely gratifying. One of my favorite things to hear about is how much it meant to her to see Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of the Enterprise when Whoopi was a child. She has an immense passion and humility that are wonderfully balanced, and it's so wonderful to hear about Star Trek from her perspective.

And we closed the day with a panel that I deeply loved, which was Guest Stars of Star Trek, and featured Martha Hackett, Hana Hatae, Natalia Nogulich, and Melania Smith. Each of them played a character that I greatly enjoyed, in particular, Melanie Smith.

To me, Ziyal was both the most tragic character in all of Star Trek, and the manifestation of Gene Roddenberry's vision. She was a child of two disparate worlds, and wanted so badly to just bring people together in peace and love. Her character's murder was one of the most gut-wrenching moments in all of Star Trek for me, and I believe actually had me in tears when it happened, as it was so sad. It also put Damar in the sights of the two most dangerous men in the Alpha Quadrant, Dukat and Garak.

So, it was really cool finally getting to see Melanie Smith talk about Ziyal. That was a really special moment for me.

And I apparently screwed the pooch and whiffed on Nichelle Nichols. Shit.

Well, we're getting ready to head out for day three! Talk to ya later!

-Blaine