REVIEW: Shatner visits Boston area for Official Star Trek Convention

NOTE: Click here for a chance to win weekend passes to the Official Twilight Convention in New Jersey.

Creation Entertainment’s Official Star Trek Convention rolled into Cambridge, Mass., July 15-17, and hundreds of fans lined up for a chance to rub elbows with William Shatner and a whole host of sci-fi celebrities.

The highlight of the festivities on Friday, July 15 was a joint appearance by Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer, both of Star Trek: Enterprise. Appearing separately and together, the actors were affable and hilarious in recounting their four seasons on the show. Keating, in particular, was as funny as a stand-up comedian, answering questions and telling jokes like the stage at the Hyatt Cambridge were a comedy club. Why does everything sound funnier when said in a British accent?

Attendance was light on Friday, but that gave those dedicated fans who did show up a chance to interact personally with the celebrities at a cocktail party and when receiving autographs.

Another highlight from the first day was John Paladin’s always fascinating Klingon make-up workshop. He pulled a volunteer from the audience and within minutes a ridged-forehead creation came to life.

Richard Arnold, the go-to man on all things Star Trek, also offered the first part of his 45th anniversary slideshow presentation. Most of his photos, all of which come from his personal collection, shed a behind-the-scenes light on Star Trek: The Original Series from the 1960s.

Saturday was filled to the brim with Star Trek celebrities. Eight actors appeared on stage for Q&A panels, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine favorites Max Grodenchik, Casey Biggs, Jeffrey Combs, Chase Masterson and Vaughn Armstrong. Masterson and Grodenchik were on hand all three days of the convention to welcome fans in the vendors room.

Also appearing were the Duras sisters, B’Etor (portrayed by Gwynyth Walsh) and Lursa (portrayed by Barbara March), everyone’s favorite female Klingons. Rounding out the bill on Saturday was an appearance by Ethan Phillips, Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager.

Because there were so many actors attending the convention on Saturday, the entire day was filled with Q&A sessions. Much was learned during the discussions. For one, Phillips is a hilarious guy who seems perfectly content telling jokes (some of them dirty) to a laughing audience. Armstrong, who has played more characters on the Star Trek television shows than any other actor, has more energy than a 5-year-old. He told stories, jumped around the stage, played a ukele and sang a duet with Biggs.

It actually proved to be a very musical Saturday, as Masterson also sang songs for the audience and the entire day was capped off by a performance by the Star Trek Rat Pack (Grodenchik, Armstrong, Biggs, Phillips and Combs). If there had to be a single highlight to the entire weekend, it would be hard not to choose the performance by the Rat Pack. Stringing together humorous lyrics, many of which are inside Star Trek jokes, the one-hour performance was a hoot.

The one hiccup (a hiccup that lasted all three days) was that the Hyatt’s sound system was not up to par. Many of the vocals sounded fuzzy and at times were difficult to hear.

Sunday, as is the case with most Creation conventions, was the most well-attended day. Robert O’Reilly and J.G. Hertzler both appeared in full Klingon make-up as Gowron and Martok, respectively.

After entertaining the crowd for an hour, the Klingons left and then the big man showed up. William Shatner, Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series, offered a one-hour Q&A session to a crowd that was largely packed to the gills.

Surprisingly, the topics of conversation were not all related to Star Trek. Shatner began his talk by recounting his recent experiences horse racing in Kentucky, plus his forthcoming album and book. However, the spotlight was refocused on Gene Rodenberry’s baby when he shared some exclusive tidbits about his new documentary, The Captains, which premieres July 22 on EPixHD (click here for more information). The film documents each of the actors who have played a captain on Star Trek, including Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine.

Besides the sound system, there were few negatives about the Boston-area convention. The vendors rooms were small, but they offered some nice finds (picked up some Star Trek: The Next Generation trading cards for $10, thank you very much). With attendance mostly manageable throughout the weekend, there were some great bargains at the two no-minimum bid auctions (picked up a Scott Bakula signed 8-by-10 for only $50, thank you very much).

All in all, the three-day event was another winner for Star Trek and Creation Entertainment.

Share your memories of the convention in our comment field below, or chime in at our Official Star Trek Convention forum by clicking here.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Click here for more information on Creation Entertainment’s conventions.