Las Vegas Convention Report: Friday, July 30th

At the end of last month, Creation Entertainment hosted their annual Las Vegas Star Trek Convention at the Las Vegas Hilton. Brent Spiner (Data), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway), Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys), Colm Meany (Miles O'Brien), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and William Shatner (James T. Kirk) were among the many Trek celebrities who appeared over the weekend.

The first part of this report covers the events of Friday, July 30th. Guests on Friday included George Takei (Hikaru Sulu), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Brent Spiner (Data), Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun, Brunt, Shran), Casey Biggs (Damar) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi).

George Takei took an opportunity to thank the fans when he came onto the stage. "If it weren't for the fans, we would have died after third season," he said of Star Trek. He also praised Trek's legendary creator, Gene Roddenberry. "Gene Roddenberry's vision is what brought us all together--Gene's magnificent, glorious vision," he commented.

He noted Roddenberry was truly a visionary. "Technology has taken us to places we've never dreamed of," he said, referrencing technological developments such as cell phones and space stations.

Wil Wheaton read from his recently released memoir Just a Geek. He described the book as being full of "stories about how I went from a has-been actor to an aspiring and promising writer." Wheaton read selections, mainly focused on his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation and filming scenes for Star Trek: Nemesis, to a packed auditorium.

Brent Spiner fielded questions about both TNG and Star Trek: Enterprise, which he'll be guest-starring on this fall. He cracked a joke about Enterprise, referring to it as a "little spoof" before backtracking and saying, "I'm totally kidding."

Spiner continued to joke when he said, "Enterprise is a wonderful show. I watch it all the time! I get in my uniform, line up my action figures, and we all watch it together."

The actor was mum on the details of his appearance for the most part. "I'm told I'm going to do three episodes of Enterprise," he told the fans, who cheered. "You say that now, but will you watch it? It's on eight o'clock on Friday nights, when anyone who has anything else to do is not at home," he quipped. He then went on to add that filming would commence in mid-August and run into September.

"I'm playing a relative of Data's," he said. "I'm not going to tell you anything more about it, because I don't know anything more about it."

Spiner also discussed Nemesis, revealing that there were four drafts of the script, and none of them pleased everyone. The fourth version was the one that eventually got made. Spiner said of it: "Nobody liked [the fourth version], and that's the one we did."

Jeffrey Combs and Casey Biggs took the stage together, revealing that the pair share an easy, friendly, teasing relationship. "Jeffrey is one of the only actors they hire on Star Trek," Casey told the audience.

Combs told the audience that out of all the characters he played, the oft-cloned Vorta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was his personal favorite. "Weyoun was my favorite because no one else had gone there before. It was new territory. Weyoun was much more of a challenge because I had no idea what this person looked like before I showed up on the first day," he said.

Both praised the writers on Deep Space Nine. "The writers were so damn good on Deep Space Nine," Biggs said.

Combs added, "And they loved us. They'd go in and see the daillies and get inspired."

Biggs also revealed that both he and Combs had an idea for the last episode. "[Jeffrey] and I wanted to kill each other off in the last episode," he said.

When Marina Sirtis took the stage, she revealed that it was she who let the news of Spiner's appearance on Enterprise slip, before Paramount PR could publicize it. Spiner told her over the phone, and she revealed it at a convention in Dallas. "Patrick [Stewart] used to call me 'Marina the Mouth,'" she admitted.

When asked if she'd consider an Enterprise guest-stint, Sirtis pondered the question. "I'd have to be my great-great grandmother. What would they do with her?" she asked. "I'd like to read the script before I'd do it. It would really depend on the story and how much they pay me. Cause I know what Brent is getting and I want the same!"

Sirtis's next project is the movie Crash, which also stars Sandra Bullock.

Part Two of the convention report, covering appearances by Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) and Alice Krige (The Borg Queen) coming soon!

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