More guest talks, plus a special musical event from Creation's Star Trek Grand Slam convention in Pasadena, California (3/31-4/2)

Saturday Evening, April 1, 2000

The afternoon saw three of the men from Star Trek: Voyager invading the stage. Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris) and Tim Russ (Tuvok) [pictured] looked very casual and were ready for some fun.

Surprising the trio of guests, one of the security guards who works on the Star Trek: Voyager soundstages at Paramount came to the mike and asked, "Mr. Russ, how did you get the nickname 'Slipperboy'?" Russ replied that he often wears slippers on the set when his feet aren't shown on camera. Which prompted McNeill to ask, "Don't you wear lipstick too?" Maintaining the humor, Russ replied, "It'll be in the tell-all book after the show is over."

Another embarrassing incident that Russ admitted to occurred during filming of the episode "Gravity." While he was lying on a bed in sickbay, Russ fell asleep and started snoring during the shot!

A fan then asked McNeill whether he enjoys playing a pilot. Robert explained that when he got the role of Tom Paris, he consulted with Gulfstream Jets to get a feel for what it's like to pilot a high-tech vehicle, and actually got to fly a jet. "It connected me with what real pilots do." He added, "We're not as far away from Star Trek as we think." The jet he flew was equipped with such sophisticated video screens and computers that the experience was "like a video game."

The next question is the one that all fans want to know. What are the actors' favorite episodes? Picardo cited "Deadlock" and how the baby Naomi Wildman died in one reality, yet lived in the other. McNeill confessed to a bias in picking "Someone to Watch Over Me," because he directed that episode and thought it was very well written. Russ said he enjoyed filming the two-part "Future's End," because the crew got to spend two weeks shooting all over Los Angeles, including the beach and Griffith Park. The location shooting represented a welcome reprieve from being cooped up on a soundstage.

An audience member then asked Picardo if he sees a future for the Doctor and Seven of Nine. With a glimmer in his eye, Picardo replied, "I see an awful lot."

During their presentation, the three actors auctioned off a Voyager crew hat, signed by all three of them. It went for $500, which will be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, c/o the RanDoM Flight (Robert Duncan McNeill) Official Fan Club.

Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) interrupted the Voyager actors, joking that they were cutting into her allotted time on stage. She then kissed all three to show she was only kidding. The guys conceded the stage to her, saying, "You do not keep a woman like this waiting." Almost immediately, the whole audience sang "Happy Birthday" to Marina, because her birthday was March 29 (three days earlier). In keeping with the date of her birth, Marina still considers herself to be 29 years old. In fact, she recently got a birthday gift from fellow cast members that congratulated her on being 29 -- "the best 10 years of your life."

Marina acknowledged Picardo by mentioning that she got to work with him "in stereo" in the upcoming Star Trek: Voyager episode "Lifeline," in which Picardo plays both the holographic Doctor and his creator, Lewis Zimmerman, with Troi present trying to help the two get along.

Responding to questions about how her hairstyle evolved during Star Trek: The Next Generation, Marina explained, "Troi's hair was a wig. Except for the first episode. That exploded brillo pad was my real hair."

Again, the question of her favorite episode came up. Opting to put aside her bias, she did not pick an episode that featured Deanna Troi. Instead, she cited "The Measure of a Man" as "the perfect Star Trek episode." She also thought "The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II" as one of the best too, and cheered the fact that it recently won an on-line poll as the best Star Trek episode ever.

Sirtis said she is happy with the way Deanna Troi has been dealt with in the ST: TNG feature film versions. "They've always done something new with Troi in the movies. In the first one, she was driving the ship . . . In the second one she got to be funny." She was briefly stumped on what she did new in the third movie, Star Trek: Insurrection," but the audience quickly reminded her that she appeared in a bathtub.

Referring again to the upcoming ST: VOY episode "Lifeline," she said, "I do get to lose my temper a bit. And, of course, I get to eat ice cream." She added, "The good news is, I still fit in my spacesuit."

She described her experience shooting her first Voyager episode ("Pathfinder") as "surreal," because it was done on the same stages as TNG. She recalls telling the cast and crew, "'So this is Voyager. I like it!' I lied. I want the Enterprise back on Stage 8 and 9."

Late Saturday Evening
The Saturday night concert opened with some sci-fi-themed comedy by Rick Overton. Overton did impersonations of Kirk, McCoy, Picard, Worf and other Star Trek characters as well as poke fun at some of our favorite sci-fi films.

The first musical number was performed by actor Victor Lundin, best known for playing Friday in the classic sci-fi movie "Robinson Crusoe on Mars." Lundin's song was a ballad based on that movie and featured footage played on the screen overhead. He was accompanied by Neil Norman and his Cosmic Orchestra, who then proceeded to play a medley called "Star Trek: Encounters," which consisted of various themes from the Star Trek television shows and movies.

Robert Duncan McNeill was the first Star Trek cast member to come on stage to entertain. He sang several cover songs with the orchestra, such as "Born to Be Wild," but then he went solo with a song he wrote himself. He had never performed it before in public, but the crowd was very supportive.

Chase Masterson (Leeta) steamed up the room with her Marilyn Monroe-esque rendition of "Latinum is a Girl's Best Friend," wearing a sexy gold lame outfit. She followed that up with "Fever," as the background screen showed various Star Trek clips featuring kissing and other passionate moments. She closed with "Hey Big Spender" while the video presentation paid tribute to Quark.

Robert Picardo went entirely down the road of parody, as he sang songs with such titles as "I Owe My Soul to the Voyager Show" (which ended with a lyric referring to St. Peter in Heaven asking "if he and Jesus...can visit the set"), "I'll Be Sold for Christmas" (about what it's like to have action figures modelled after your likeness, and to not be as popular as Captain Picard) and "What's My Name?" in response to his character's lack of one. He also sang a ballad to UPN, an attempt to comfort the fledgling network in the wake of Viacom's pending merger with CBS. "I'm nothing if not obscure," Picardo commented after the song. He closed with a hilarious rendition of "I Hate You Babe," an ode to the new Star Trek: Voyager episode "Lifeline," in which Picardo impersonated both Sonny and Cher in turn.

The evening climaxed with Tim Russ performing songs from his two CDs, "Only a Dream in Rio" and the brand new "Tim Russ." Backed by Neil Norman and His Cosmic Orchestra (as he is on "Tim Russ"), Tim played rhythm guitar, sang and interspersed the tunes with a few jokes to keep the audience groaning and occasionally laughing.

For Part IV of STARTREK.COM's convention report, click here.

Story by: Sandy Stone
Pictures by: Nick Saul