In September of this year Planet Xpo had a huge star-studded celebration for Star Trek’s 40th Anniversary and our very own Star Trek reporter, Christine Roberts was on hand to share in that occassion. Christine shares her own experience of that time spent in the beautiful State of Washington at the Science Fiction/Fantasy Space Museum.
The organizers, as often happens at events of this magnitude, had some start-up problems from the beginning. I came down to do the pre-registration on Thursday, and while things were fairly organized, they didn’t explain clearly enough that all participants needed to buy separate tickets for the autograph signing segment of the convention. Many with past experiences with how CON’s operate knew this procedure, however those new to the convention scene were convinced that the autographs came with the main ticket pass they purchased for the event. This led to confusion and slow-downs at the entry point. The facility was also having problems with the ATM’s that night, which only added to the problem of smooth transition to the event.
On Friday morning I went to the world famous Science Fiction Museum. As a big plus this visit was included with the main ticket price. The museum had a large display of items that had sold at the [Christies] auction. Of course, being here for Star Trek, I started out by attending the Star Trek Authors panels. David Marinacio and Jeff Greenwald were promoting their new books with a lively discussion about their latest editions up for sale.
One of the more exciting events I was able to catch was a talk given by Tracy Torme reminiscing about writing for “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and sharing what it was like working with the late Gene Roddenberry.
The highlight event was the premiere of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan film, “To Serve All My Days,” presented and hosted by actor Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov) from the original Star Trek series. This big production fan film is a sequel to the Star Trek TOS episode “The Deadly Years”. However, in this film only Chekov is affected by the rapid aging process – who, in the TOS episode, was the only member of the landing party that did not age. After the premiere, members of the production wanted to know how the audience felt about the episode. Almost everyone unanimously agreed that the ending needed to be changed. Not one person polled cared for the way the film brought closer to Chekov’s character, so they indicated that a change would be implemented in the final release, one more in line with what fans wanted. Believe me, for those who love Star Trek and Chekov, you will like the final scenes much better than what was presented to us at the Con.
Next we headed on over to the famous Seattle Space Needle to celebrate Star Trek’s 40th Anniversary on the actual day of September 8th which was the day the first episode aired in 1966. George Takei (Sulu) made a wonderful toast while we all drank champagne. Music was provided by the Klingon band Stovokor along with fully attired Klingon dancers. The dancers weren’t dressed up in traditional Klingon costumes, but more like Sahara desert type outfits, which allowed for more graceful movement. A variety of refreshments were provided and those who wanted,had their pictures taken with the array of celebs that were present.
Saturday morning began with Rod Roddenberry (son of Gene and Majel Roddenberry) giving a talk and showing a preview of his latest film titled “Trek Nation.” As an added treat, Rod allowed the audience to see how the process behind the “upgrading” of ST:TOS on DVD is being done. As many already know the music, as well as many of the scenes, have been digitally remastered for the 40th anniversary. As with all Trek fans, there were mixed reviews. Some wanted it kept the same and others like the improvements.
I was able to catch up with Walter Koenig doing a Q & A session. He was entertaining about his experiences on the show and growing up near Russia. Jonathan Franks (William Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) followed Walter by doing a skit together and another Q & A session.
The Star Trek 40th Anniversary Banquet featured cocktails, dinner, followed by the First Inaugural Star Trek Legacy Awards. Marc Lee hosted the event. Winners were: Charles M. Chafer (CEO Space Services Inc.) the world’s leading provider of public participation in space missions, Martin Cooper (founder – Arraycomm, Inc.), Dr. Mae Jemison and Pat Hoar. Pat Hoar is the founder of Space Adventures Ltd. which was the first and only civilian company to-date to send commercial passengers into space. Dr. Me Jemison was noted as the first African American Woman to go into space.
Sunday, the last day of the event, I was able to get around and meet the dealers. Many had complaints about elevator service, help for the visually impaired, and the need for more Information People. But, overall the experience from the dealer tables and displays was a postitive one.
I was very excited and fortunate to be able to visit with Gary Graham (Soval) and John Billingley (Dr. Phlox) from “Star Trek: Enterprise” during the morning sessions. John Billingley brought four items to be auctioned off. The money raised went to the local AIDS Services. The Science Fiction/Fantasy and Space Museum is noted for its contribution to the fight against and cure for those suffering from HIV and AIDS. They are in the forefront of getting the resources needed to and from doctors and their patients at no or little cost. John auctioned off each item separately and ended up getting $1,975.00 for the local services. Actor/director Tim Russ (Tuvok) and actor Garrett Wang (Ens. Kim) were up next. Tim opened up with a song from his album. They both mentioned some of the practical jokes they would do on the set of the television series “Star Trek: Voyager.”
The Grand Finale highlighted video footage of the many wonderful moments at the convention over the past three days, and final goodbyes and thank you’s from all the celebrities on hand for this very successful celebration of Star Trek’s 40th birthday – May she have many, many more.
Written by: Christine Roberts (Slice of SciFi Staff Reporter)
Bjorker says
I don’t seem to remember “everyone unanimously agreed that the ending needed to be changed.”
Nor do I remember the producers or Walter K saying they would change it to make the fans happy.
The Saturday screening of the episode hosted my Mary-Linda Rapelye was much more fun. A longer Q&A session followed the showing and again no calls for a major change to the edit.
Oh well, It was fun anyway.
-Bjorker