Star Trek Las Vegas is officially underway, with thousands of fans beaming in from all over the world and ready for five days of nonstop, wall-to-wall Trek activities spanning from star-studded panels to parties, and from cosplaying and photo ops to autograph sessions. StarTrek.com will be in the house all five days, live tweeting and providing daily recaps. And we start right now with Wednesday’s highlights.
Deep Space Nine Celebration Kickoff
It’s the 25th anniversary of DS9, and STLV will mark the occasion the entire weekend, with most of the cast joining in on the fun and Ira Steven Behr heading up a panel devoted to the upcoming documentary, What We Left Behind. But it started today with Colm Meaney, making a rare convention appearance, during which he was joined by Hana Hatae, his DS9 daughter, Molly, and moderator Ian Spelling.
The two played off each other charmingly, with Meaney laughing and shaking his head in amazement when Hatae noted that she started on the show at age 4, and she’s now 30. Of her time on DS9, she recalled that “everyone treated me like a princess,” but especially Meaney and Rosalind Chao. “Colm and Rosalind were my second parents; honestly, they really were. They both treated me like their daughter.”
A fan posed a great question to Meaney. Why did Trek even need a chief engineer? Shouldn’t they have had voice-activated transporters? “Because I’d have been out of work!” Meaney replied. “Have you created a voice controller that works with a transporter, or are you still working on that?” He paused for effect and added, “If there was a real one, I guess I would have spent more time in the holodeck playing games with Julian.”
The Guest Stars of Trek
It was a guestapalooza for part 1 of "Guest Stars of TOS" on the main stage as Chase Masterson, in her STLV moderating debut, welcomed Celeste Yarnall, Michael Forest, Nathan Jung, Phil Adams, Kellie Flanagan, Iona Morris and Phil Morris.
Another unique guest panel, "Guest Stars of the Trek Universe, Part 1" brought together six guests from across the Trek spectrum: Catherine Hicks, Martha Hackett, Dina Meyer, Steve Rankin, Kate Vernon and Michael Welch.
Hackett had auditioned for the role of Jadzia Dax. She wasn’t sure how close she’d come to winning it, but feels “Dax is Terry, and Terry is Dax.” Clearly, the producers and casting directors were impressed, as Hackett later landed the “super-delicious” recurring role of Seska on Voyager.
Ready to feel old? Welch played Artim, the little boy who befriended Data in Star Trek: Insurrection. That little boy is married now and is the father of a seven-month-old infant daughter.
Deja Q
It was QvQ when, for the very first time ever, John de Lancie and Corbin Bernsen shared a stage to recount their experience shooting the TNG episode “Deja Q” nearly 30 years ago. The two veteran actors traded memories and quips, much to their amusement and that of everyone in the house.
Bernsen, speaking of his role as Q2, said, “It gets philosophical… How can I be smarter than pure truth?
De Lancie shared his view on acting: “Turn the sound off. If you’re getting a lot of the character without sound… that’s acting. Acting adds that third dimension.”
Inside Trek: Star Trek Ship Design
Fans heard informative anecdotes from the Treksperts who bring to life their favorite Trek games, collectibles and more. On the panel were Joe Beaudoin of ANOVOS, Kevin Dilmore of Hallmark, Thomas Marrone of Perfect World, Erin Prince of Disruptor Beam and Ben Robinson of Eaglemoss, with John Van Citters of CBS Consumer Products moderating.
Marrone described how he knows a ship is good to go: "I know a design is ready when I look at it and I can hear theme music."
Dilmore, discussing Hallmark’s Trek ornaments, explained, “Our goal is to use starships to capture memories.”
Still Outrageous
The lights went down in the main theater at 5 p.m. and on came “The Outrageous Okona.” Following the screening, fans were treated to a panel featuring Brent Spiner and that episode’s guest star, Joe Piscopo. The two swapped stories about making the episode, their careers and more, but the highlight was all the amusing conversation about Frank Sinatra.
Spiner recounted a long, amusing anecdote about seeing Sinatra in Vegas with Michael Dorn and Jonathan Frakes.
Piscopo, of course, was famous for his Sinatra-approved Sinatra imitation on Saturday Night Live and in his standup act. Piscopo then entertained the crowd with his still-spot-on Sinatra imitation and even broke into song a la Ol’ Blue Eyes.
Of course, there was tons more to see, hear and experience, and StarTrek.com documented it with some of our favorite photos of the day...
Cosplayers strutted their stuff and showed off their ingenuity and creativity.
Over on the CBS All Access Stage, Voyager cosplayers gathered for a photo op.
The Star Trek: Discovery Mirror Universe Museum, not surprisingly, is a hit with fans who checked out all the cool Terran items and posed for pics on Emperor Georgiou’s throne.
One Trek Mind Live: Top 10 Space Animals
Jordan Hoffman was back where he belonged, gleefully leading the frenzied debate as fans picked Trek’s 10 Best Space Animals. A few dozen options were considered, and we doubt you’ll have any Tribble at all with the results...
Exclusives & Signings
John Eaves, author of Titan Books’ upcoming The Art of John Eaves, will be signing U.S.S. Shenzhou concept art on a complimentary basis, on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Away Mission Booth (located directly across from Titan’s booth in the dealers’ room).
FanSets
FanSets will have Sisko 2018 STLV Poker Chip Pins ($15), To Boldly Go Black and White (limited to 200 pieces; $20), DS9 25th Anniversary Set (limited to 176; $225); and William Shatner Autograph Pin #1 (limited to 100 pieces; $150).
Titan
Titan has at their booth a very fun STLV 2018 Exclusive: a 3” Michael Burnham Titan Figure (with her own phaser accessory), as well as a 4.5” U.S.S. Discovery NCC-1031. Fans can also pick up a copy of an Exclusive Show Cover edition of Star Trek: Discovery – The Official Companion Magazine, filled with great photos, detailed episode breakdowns, interviews and articles exploring elements including scripts, production design and visual effects.
Eaglemoss
Eaglemoss has beamed into STLV with new Discovery ships, busts and a limited-edition debut.
Visit their booth to check out a U.S.S. Glenn NCC-1030 variant, the U.S.S. Europa NCC-1648, the Vulcan Cruiser, and all-new line of busts featuring Kirk, Spock, Worf and Data. And, everyone who visits the Eaglemoss booth can enter to win one of 500 prizes. The grand prize? An ultimate Voyage for two aboard Star Trek: The Cruise III.
Keep an eye on StarTrek.com for our coverage of STLV 2018.
