At age 83, James Doohan ("Montgomery Scott") is still making occasional convention appearances, and reportedly will retire from that activity by the end of the year. But he could not miss one of the biggest Star Trek events ever and the throngs of fans who continue to revere him and his character. Hard of hearing and talking slowly, but still smiling and making jokes, he related how he developed his Scottish accent, spoke about some of his wartime experiences and those of his early acting career, and credited his training to influential acting coach Sanford Meisner, who died just a few years ago. "He was just so brilliant as an actor and taught so beautifully," Doohan said. The audience was rapt in its attention, and though he was only able to respond to a few questions, he received a rousing standing ovation when his time was up. Of course, it was not his answers to the questions, but the fact of his appearance that genuinely moved people.

Cirroc Lofton

"The Youngest Regular Cast Member in All the Star Trek Series" was Cirroc Lofton's self-described "official title." "And I'm black, I'm black, just in case you didn't notice."

Lofton's experience growing up as "Jake Sisko" on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and his encounters with fans since have been "one incredible wild roller coaster ride, and I'm thankful for every day that I've been involved with this franchise." He also had very kind words for Avery Brooks, who played his father in the series. "Ave was a wonderful person and has a tremendous place in my heart forever. The love that we had on camera is something that was a lot more deep-rooted than that, and that stemmed from just a genuine friendship, a genuine bond that we had off the camera. We spent a lot of time together, and he took me under his wing." Brooks played a mentor to him, helping to guide him through the world of Hollywood, "and how to just function in society and be a good person. He instilled all those values in me during our seven years together, so I think that's one of the most valuable things that I take away from the Star Trek experience, is getting the opportunity to be close to Avery."

He claimed a lot in common with his futuristic alter-ego, including an interest in writing, which for him has meant poetry and music lyrics, and more recently trying his hand at television and movie scripts. "I guess you can say my real-life character is much like the fictional Jake Sisko. On the set they always saw me writing, putting that time in to get whatever I was working on done, so I know they've seen that and taken different character attributes from my real-life personality and kind of 'contributed' that to Jake Sisko. So I did have a tailored character as the seasons went on."

Leonard Nimoy

Often Leonard Nimoy ("Spock") will appear on stage at these large events alongside his counterpart William Shatner, but since the captain was coming a different day, the first officer took the opportunity to poke some fun. "How many here have had intimate relations with Bill Shatner? Would you stand so we can take a head count? You? Really? How was it? Bill doesn't let you down! ... You? What's your name, sir?"

Asked the perennial question about his most enjoyable episode, he cited many. "I always think 'The City on the Edge of Forever' was a great show. It was a wonderful script by Harlan Ellison, and he'll tell you that too." He also particularly enjoyed working with Jill Ireland in "This Side of Paradise" and Mariette Hartley in "All Our Yesterdays," among others. Plus, "Any time I got to tangle with De Kelley was good times." Among the movies, he picked one that he directed. "'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' was just sheer fun. We had a great time making that movie. And it's your favorite of all the films, isn't it?"

On that subject, someone asked if he had a chance to direct that movie again, would he do anything different? He shrugged, "It was perfect," to the audience's laughter and applause. He did admit, though, that "George Takei got a little shortchanged." There was a scene written for Sulu where he meets a young boy on the streets of San Francisco who turns out to be an ancestor of his. "And we couldn't get it done because the little boy got stage fright, and just would not stop crying. We couldn't shoot George's scene. It would've been nice to have it in the movie. But other than that, it just went swimmingly, if you'll pardon the expression."

Asked if he has thought about directing Star Trek again, he said, "I thought about it and I sat down and let the thought pass." Seriously, he clarified, "I'm officially done with directing."

Guest Stars and other events

Not on the main stage, but no less important, Wil Wheaton took the opportunity this weekend to read from his new book, "Dancing Barefoot," a tome billed as "Five short, but true stories about life in the so-called Space Age ... " Wheaton also related his account of meeting the Original Series cast while they were filming "Star Trek V," and how this was a quintessential moment in his life.

As ever, Wil was gracious to the fans and spent a lot of time over the weekend signing fan photos in the dealers room.

Later, in Quark's Bar during the "Creation Friday Happy Hour," other stars took over to provide the evening's entertainment. Robert Duncan McNeill and Robert Picardo sang, and later Chase Masterson ("Leeta") and Max Grodenchik ("Rom") showed off their stuff at "Creation's Party at Star Trek: The Experience." The party featured some great food, but the real highlight was seeing Chase, Max and Lolita Fatjo singing "I Got Two Babes," followed by Chase soloing on songs such as "Fever" featured on her new CD, "Thrill of the Chase." Tim Russ closed out the evening's entertainment with a selection of songs from his three CDs.

COMING UP: Armin Shimerman, Roxann Dawson, Alexander Siddig, Robert Beltran, Walter Koenig, Dominic Keating, Kate Mulgrew and much, much more!