RECAP: ‘Star Trek: Mission New York’ celebrates 50 years of sci-fi glory

NEW YORK — The inaugural Star Trek: Mission New York, running Sept. 2-4, was an intergalactic success that proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek. The three-day event, run by the organizers of New York Comic Con and CBS Consumer Products, saw several celebrity actors in the franchise meeting fans, signing autographs and posing for photos. Vendors dispensed of cool exclusives, legacy collectibles and challenging games. The panels, featuring everyone from NASA personnel to William Shatner, packed in the crowds.

The convention was a happy medium between the annual onslaught that is New York Comic Con, where walking from aisle to aisle can be a suffocating experience, and the more personal fan conventions one might find in lesser-known locations throughout the United States. It was a big weekend but not too big. There were points that felt crowded, especially when pining for a seat in the main-stage area, but other times, the convention allowed for some stress-free shopping and interesting conversations.

When the convention was announced for the Javits Center, some fans might have expected a spectacle similar to New York Comic Con, but most attendees probably did not. There are only a handful of events that can bring in the crowds like that mega-convention, which is coming in October. So, no, the entire Javits Center on the westside of Manhattan was not used for Star Trek: Mission New York. Instead, the northern pavilion (artist alley at New York Comic Con) was used for the vendors area, while the bottom floor was used for panels, autographing and the main stage.

Crowd control was nicely managed, and the good folks at ReedPOP should be proud of themselves. Everything and everyone was professional and courteous. Lines started early each day. By the time Hollywood Soapbox arrived in the 9 a.m. hour, roughly 45 minutes before doors opened, hundreds were packed into the air-conditioned lobby area. By the time 10 a.m. rolled around, the line snaked around the sidewalks outside.

It was tough to gauge the size of the crowd, but it definitely seemed like Saturday and Sunday were busier. That’s probably because they weren’t workdays, and the highest profile talent, including Shatner and Kate Mulgrew, turned out on Sunday. Other than those two captains, most of the celebrities on hand greeted fans for three days.

In the autographing area, Jonathan Frakes almost always had a long line, but then again the actors of Star Trek: The Next Generation are bonafide stars and crowd favorites. Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis were all on hand. John de Lancie also signed autographs, including free scribbles at the Star Trek: Timelines booth on the convention floor. Denise Crosby offered free autographs and selfies at the Star Trek Online booth.

Of the TNG cast, there can probably be no better panel guest than Sirtis. She is funny, down to earth and always willing to offer great information to her fans. Her jokes about loving Tottenham Hotspur and the crowd’s misguided enthusiasm for Manchester United were hilarious.

For Star Trek: Voyager, Robert Picardo and Kate Mulgrew drew tons of fans. Mulgrew was only present on Sunday during the convention, so her line was quite long, as expected. Other celebrities included Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips and Roxann Dawson.

Star Trek: Enterprise was represented by Dominic Keating, Connor Trinneer, Anthony Montgomery and John Billingsley. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actors included Terry Farrell, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Cirroc Lofton and Armin Shimerman, who was a particular delight with fans, engaging them in conversation during autograph sessions. In fact, DS9 might win for nicest cast.

Other special actors in attendance were Walter Koenig (Star Trek: The Original Series), Shatner (who commanded the longest lines), Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek film reboot) and Peter Weller (Star Trek film reboot and the original RoboCop).

Of the panels, audience members could not go wrong with any of the cast reunions. These were the main-stage panels that filled up quickest. The convention organizers decided not to clear the main stage after each presentation, which was actually a welcome development. This did mean that folks needed to come early, but they had the chance to see the preceding panel as well. Of the several panels that Hollywood Soapbox attended, the TNG and DS9 reunions were excellent and packed. The pairing of Weller and Greenwood was also a lot of fun. Perhaps next time they should have a simulcast in the queue area.

Probably the most anticipated panel was the one featuring writers Kirsten Beyer, author of several Star Trek: Voyager novels, and Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The two are working with Bryan Fuller on Star Trek: Discovery, the new TV series.

They were tight-lipped about definitive details, but if audience members listened closely, there was enough information to salivate over. The new Star Trek series, which received the big-poster treatment in the lobby area, will premiere on CBS and CBS All Access in January. One thing was for certain after their panel: Fuller’s vision is definitely the vision of the new series, and that’s good news indeed.

Special events included a cosplay contest, screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and staged reading of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Kudos to host Jordan Hoffman for keeping the conversations funny and interesting.

In the vendors area, there were so many great buys and exclusive merchandise. On Friday, Sept. 2, the United States Postal Service issued a series of new Star Trek stamps, and fans could purchase the collectibles and have them canceled on the first day of issue. The line was, as to be expected, quite long. Other long lines included a photo op with a replica bridge from TOS (thanks to Trekonderoga and James Cawley) and exclusive ornaments from Hallmark, which sold out quickly each day of the convention. Of the two Hallmark exclusives, the U.S.S. Enterprise was awesome, while the Maxine figure was OK.

Tribbles were everywhere, and the Roddenberry booth, overseen by Rod Roddenberry, series creator Gene Roddenberry’s son, was doing brisk business of the furry balls of joy. Other notable family members: Adam Nimoy (For the Love of Spock) and Julie Nimoy (COPD: Highly Illogical — A Tribute to Leonard Nimoy).

NASA had the largest and most thoughtful exhibit. Personnel taught fans about the different planets, stars and possibilities in space, and they gave away a variety of posters, pins and stickers. Mezco Toys had finely detailed action figures from TOS, which were some of the best action figures on the ever-expansive Star Trek market. FanSets had shiny exclusive pins that drew many fans to their booth.

Gamers could get their game on at Star Trek Online: Agents of Yesterday (free T-shirt if a fan played), Star Trek: Ascendancy (a super cool board game from Gale Force Nine retailing around $100), Star Trek: Timelines (free collectible cards every hour) and Star Trek: Bridge Crew from Ubisoft (spots to play this virtual reality game filled instantly each morning). They were all exciting and offered excellent previews to fans. It’s tough to predict which ones will achieve success because they all seem qualified. The fervor for Star Trek: Bridge Crew was palpable because of the VR novelty, but Star Trek: Ascendancy had tons of people interested in the board game and playing demos. The expansion packs, which come out this October, will only improve the gaming experience.

Of the many buys at the vendors area, books ruled the day. David Gerrold, who wrote the famous Tribbles episode, signed autographs, and WORD Bookstores from Jersey City and Brooklyn offered many Star Trek tomes.

At another retailer, if fans were quick, they could have snagged a free copy of Star Trek: The Original Series: Child of Two Worlds by Greg Cox.

Another neat buy came from Toynk.com. For $90, fans could purchase a Star Trek backpack or messenger bag filled with cool items. Hollywood Soapbox’s $90 bag featured an Uhura purse and Scotty pillow, plus Tribble slippers, a TOS alarm clock and TOS watch, among other collectibles. It appeared all bags were sold out by Sunday, Sept. 4.

Many of the items from the convention organizers’ store sold out, including a Star Trek: Missions New York messenger bag, sweatshirt, T-shirts and Quark shot glass. Icon Heroes sold Enterprise mousepads and Vulcan business card holders. Got to love them.

Anovos, clearly the leader when it comes to uniforms and other costume choices, simply impressed with their elegant, true-to-form, reasonably priced near-perfect replicas. Another industry standard bearer is Eaglemoss and their spot-on models of Star Trek starships. Their deal for the convention — $60 for four models — will hopefully be repeated at New York Comic Con.

Click here for more information on the exclusives for sale.

The first Star Trek: Missions New York was a resounding success, and fans will surely grow in number and satisfaction in coming years (if there are more missions). Now that the first one is complete, many unknowns are gone. Fans won’t expect New York Comic Con (was anyone actually thinking it would be that big?), and yet they will still have a fun three days with like-minded folks. Here’s hoping this inaugural event is not a once-in-a-lifetime event for the New York area. The Big Apple needs an annual Star Trek convention. Period.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Click here for more information.