September 8, 2006  

Star Trek Convention Report

Sacramento, California

September 8-10, 2006

By Monika Lewis

 

 

September 20, 2006

Leonard Nimoy at the 40th  Anniversary Sacramento Star Trek convention 

 

 

 

 

 

September 10, 2006

 

I saw many of the Star Trek actors at the Sacramento convention, as well as other people involved with the series.

 The first actor I saw, on Friday September 8th, was John de Lancie. One of the fans asked a question of Mr. de Lancie that many viewers wonder about: "Is Q evil or not?"
He answered: "I think that the character could be evil a little bit of the time, or naughty, but was mostly having a good time."  He also said, "I enjoyed working with Patrick [Stewart]. Our relationship was tense, and that was good, because that is the relationship on screen."
Of his favorite Q episode: "The one I was most proud of was "All Good Things...". Each scene dealt with a particular facet and was quintessentially Q ... I liked that one a lot."

John de Lancie was also asked if he was proud of his work on "Star Trek". He said, "I'm very glad I did "Star Trek." In the real commercial world of acting you have to make your name at something. People start building on that."

 

 

Kristine M. Smith, who wrote a book called "DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories : My Life
and Times With a Remarkable Gentleman Actor," about her friendship with DeForest Kelley, read from and discussed her book on the second day, 9/9/06. She became a fan during the first run of the original Star
Trek, and got to meet DeForest Kelley as he was promoting the series near her home in Washington. Many years later, they were reacquainted at a convention and she got to know him and his wife Carolyn. Ms.
Smith was impressed by how kind they both were to the fans of Star Trek. She also recognized people in the audience who were inspired to become doctors or to help people by his portrayal of Dr. McCoy. Afterwards I waited by the side of the stage to have Ms. Smith sign my copy of her book.  I was dressed as a Vulcan for the costume contest, and when I got to her she exclaimed "I was going to say I don't see no points on your ears, girl, but you have!"

Starfleet Officers in Sacramento

 

 

Dominic Keating was a definite change of pace, as he was provided with a Bloody Mary soon after he came onstage and told the story of a memorable encounter with a fan in Las Vegas with Connor Trinneer (for the full story, see the Star Trek web site's Las Vegas page.

 

He complained that John Billingsley, who is on the new series "The Nine," was always saying "I was just down on the set," when he didn't have any acting prospects. He sang an "alternate" version of the Enterprise theme song to finish his appearance.

The Convention Hall at the Doubletree Hotel, Sacramento

 

 

 

When Armin Shimerman came on, he announced that he had just been filming scenes for "a little show with not too many Star Trek actors in it called Boston Legal," at which the audience applauded enthusiastically. It stars William Shatner and Rene Auberjonois, so Shimerman said that the role would allow him to continue the Quark-Odo dynamic from Deep Space Nine. He plays a judge starting with the new season.

Some of the plots on Boston Legal have references to the actors' roles on Star Trek, such as William Shatner's cell phone using the same ringtone as Captain Kirk's communicator or his falling in love with different women. When William Shatner was asked what it was like to kiss Jeri Ryan on Boston Legal, he replied, "It was magical... for her." Shatner asked Leonard Nimoy, "Why won't you come on Boston Legal," and Nimoy answered, "I knew I was going to be asked that question, but I didn't think it would come from you!" Nimoy explained that he has retired from acting after he found that filming took up too much time and wasn't as enjoyable as it once was. He is concentrating on his photography career and has published several books, including "Shekhina," based on Jewish symbolism. The Vulcan hand sign was based on a blessing used in a Jewish religious ceremony. On Sunday 9/10/06, the convention auditorium was packed with fans during William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's appearance. It was a fun experience to see the actors in person during their talks with the audience and meet them. I got autographs from John de Lancie and Armin Shimerman, and they were both very friendly and nice to meet. I had fun at the convention.

 

 

Old Sacramento: Like a scene from                "Spectre of the Gun"

Custom Wired cover of me made at the magazine's website April 2007

 Pictures © 2006 Monika Lewis, Ken Lewis

 

October 15, 2006:

StarTrek.com has a new photo gallery with more quotes from the Sacramento convention.

 

Star Trek © 2006 CBS Studios Inc.