STV— Fotos and Fan Faces: More Video Vegas Khhaaann 2011

Hey, it's Chicago Trek con weekend from Creation— and in honor of the occasion, and of Leonard Nimoy's final planned convention appearance, here's some sights and sounds from Vegas Khhaaan! that I've been holding back these past few weeks. (Video below the fold) I sounded off already on what we learned there ...

But here's a little more of the fun flavor: To start, some pics from what turned out to be Leonard's next-last con appearance, for one thing—the long-term highlight of that Vegas weekend, for me ... and what I know will be just as moving for the Chi-town fans now:

And a hoot of a panel that Anthony Pascale asked me to join, apart from my own ...  and one just as vociferously attended: the "Captain Smackdown" panel. Alec Peters and I played not so much a dominant role, but a set-up for audience debate and voting—which is how I liked it. Here's the results—with 1 point for 1st place, 5 for last place in each category, and all representing actual audience vote results. And, yep, the woman outdrew the Brit and lost the tiebreaker to the Original: Who knew the Kathryn Janeway Protection-Promotion League would show up en masse?

The most personal moment of all was the fan who caught me to sign a photo—nothing special there, but what a photo: a stunning 8x10 print of my "Civilian #2" among the guest cameos in the audience of the Enterprise finale. You can bet I especially did a double-take when I saw the ENTERPRISE branding like a licensed photo (of me?) ... but it was all a custom home job. Thanks Willie—that was a moment for the ages. And thanks Dawn, Charity & Chris for the camera work, and helping make it a "corridor moment" for even more passers-by curious at our little mini-party there for a couple minutes. It just really got to me.

I think that was even more of a hoot than having The Shat's Fan Addicts film crew (led by Bill "in cognito" in his stand-out white hat) crash not one but two of our events: The annual rapid-fire trivia (thanks once again for prizes, CBS Consumer Products!) and our game for the evening freebirds at McFadden's on the Casino "strip" (with DVDGeeks' John and Mary and Treknews.net's Brian)...

And finally, as promised in that first post-Vegas '11 TREKLAND post, I went in wearing some new hats this year—producer, for one—and did it (like everyone else) in a new "home." So, that translates as a bit thrown out of routine, and not a lot of video shot. But here's some fun stuff, nonetheless—and, as always, the kind of thing that stops me in my tracks and forces me to whip out the camera... even after all these years, and over such a crazy-busy weekend ....




A big shout-out of thanks to Gary and Adam, and Stephanie and Val and Michelle and Richard and all the Creation gang, once again ... And a reminder not to forget my video visit from our own @Televixen Mary during her MakeMeDehner.com "tour," already up as a Trekland post, too ...

Congrats, Mexico City—on your first Trek convention!

Hey world—we can't let this go by unnoticed!
  

Mexico City recently marked another historic first for that nation, and for the international office of Trekland: Mexico's first-ever Star Trek convention!

A Star Trek "expo" it was called, actually—"for fans, from fans"—and I'm proud to say I know the guy who helped lead it: Alfredo Ruanova is president of the city's Star Trek club, "Aztlan Earthstation - Star Trek Fan Club Mexico", Aztlan being the mythical birth city of the Aztecs central to Mexican history. Alfredo visited with me twice at recent Vegas Khhaaans and told me of their hopes and plans... someday. Well, "someday" is here.

"Just us fans here... no special guests... but still a collection expo, and some presentations by us, movie showings, and such" he says of the event, which ran two weeks from Aug. 29- Sept. 11 in the capital's Futurama Youth Art and Culture Center.  "It hasn’t been a commercial enterprise (pardon the pun): we got the expo hall for free, no charge for admission, and no one is selling stuff. We invited people from the local Paramount office, but they were a no-show."

"The attendance numbers will probably be pitiful by US Trek convention standards, but it has been better than we expected," he adds. Turnout ran about 20-25 a day until the final weekend ended with a bang: 200 on Saturday and 250 on Sunday, with major talks about Star Trek the franchise, and its history from "TOS through JJ."

Posters sported the literal translation of Star Trek used to market throughout Spanish-speaking countries, Viaje a las Estrellas—literally, "Voyage to the Stars." And, like other events all year long, was held with the theme of marking the 45th anniversary of the franchise.

 "Every day had two showings of one of the movies, starting with ST-TMP and ending with the JJ Abrams film—we also included Galaxy Quest as a "non-Trek Trek film," he says.  "We had a makeup exhibition, and a friend got made up as a klingon. We had some conferences, talking about propulsion, from steam engines to warp drives, and about Trek influence in technology. And we also had activities, like a drawing contest for kids, a trivia contest, and 'most unusual collectible' contest."

Yep, sounds like a fan convention to me—in all the purest, most glorious sense. I would have loved to have been there for this first, just as I would have loved to have experienced that first Serbian Trekfan convention in Novi Sad, headed by my longtime Trek penpal Veljko Vidic that was chronicled in Trekkies II.

"Hope it will be the start of a yearly show… and maybe something better down the road," Alfredo says—and somehow I think it will be.

The report is in Spanish, but local media did pick up the story here...

...as the multicultural reach of Gene's dream moves on to even more corners of the globe. Meanwhile, good luck in 2012, Alfredo!

STV: Ira Steven Behr, Part 3 of 4—On "Alpha"s AND "DS9"...

Have you been watching Alphas on SyFy at 10 p.m. Mondays?  Exec producer Ira Steven Behr is an old friend from his Trekland days heading up the writers on DS9 (and the creator of Jennifer Hetrick's rogue archeologist Vash on TNG, to boot).

If you haven't caught the earlier installments of this interview, here's Part I and Part 2 all ready for you—where, among other things, Ira runs through the David Straithaim-led cast and characters of his new hit (it's doing very well).  In Part 3 here, Ira makes the point—in case you haven't been keeping up!—that the Alphas' "superhuman" abilities are natural, right from the brain: neither the comic-book super-Heroes style, nor of The 4400 alien-additive variety (and he should know, having headed up the latter show).

In fact, we finally turn the convo in this segment to waxing reflective on DS9 ... and yes, it all concludes in Part 4, coming up soon.



BTW: As Ira describes, here's real-life "Alpha" Stephen Wiltshire in action with his Manhattan memory mural.

STV: Happy 45th, Star Trek—your gift: a rare video of your 20th!

So yes, to finish up your annual dilitihium-powered birthday candles: Happy Birthday, Star Trek! Although, as I always say, never forget we're merely marking the first airdate, not the pilot conception or even filming of "The Cage" over two years earlier. In fact, It's a good time to celebrate with a look back at Star Trek's SECOND-most important year...

I'm talking about 1986, When Everything Changed. Thanks to Star Trek IV having such early buzz (later fulfilled in acclaim and box office alike) ... which helped answer the ongoing clamor of local stations for "more Star Trek"  with the bold move to finally make a TV spinoff (what became The Next Generation, of course). With all that, someone figured out it might be time to finally mark the anniversary with an "official" blowout. And even a logo!

Thus, herewith we present—"fresh" from some old VHS tape from some dealer at some con back in the mists of time (and thus, apologies for its quality)—a very rare glimpse of the 20th anniversary Star Trek bash at the studio on Sept. 8, 1986. In context, the announcement of TNG was still a month away, while just five years and a month later Gene Roddenberry himself would be gone, after a series of strokes.

Still, the vindication in his voice here is palatable...