Creation Con Salutes Star Trek

Star Trek Convention
Name:	Creation Con Salutes Star Trek
Dates:	June 1989
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Organization:	Creation Con
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cover of the art portfolio, artist is Chuck Frazier

Creation Con Salutes Star Trek was an annual series of for-profit Star Trek convention put on by Creation Con.

1986 (20 Years)

June 21-22, 1986 in Anaheim, CA

1986: Con Reports

This convention demonstrated the eclectic attraction of ST. The audience included sedate grandmother types, yuppies, teenagers, middle-aged couples with grandpa along, couples in their twenties with babies in strollers, and folks reportedly from Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, England, and Mexico. There were folk in Vulcan attire, Dr. Who attire, and Rocky Racoon costumes; some wore garb we couldn't identify.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry was the first guest speaker. She mentioned that TV networks have indicated interest in re-starting a series. She also pointed out that several of the major folk would not be willing to commit to a full-time, weekly series, but would be available on a 'guest star' basis. Dr. Chapel will appear in ST IV; publicity stills show Christine as a brunette, and not the blonde of the series. Majel started off her presentation with one of the infamous blooper reels, and mentioned a correlation between sense of humor and intelligence when the audience roared. She also said that the only people who were not amused by the blooper reels was a group of network executives.

I did see the ST IV preview slides. Robin Curtis mentioned a 'joyous experience' for Saavik during the behind-the-scenes film clip. There were scenes of Kirk and Spock in San Francisco in 1986. The release date is currently listed as December 12. Catherine Hicks will play a major role as a 1986 character (we hear the character is a marine biologist). Every guest speaker trod a very thin line between enticement and revealing plot!

D.C. Fontana and John Dwyer came on stage to talk about the 'good ol' days' of the series. They mentioned that ST managed to get away with several controversial topics because it was set in space. I must admit that the audience seemed somewhat at a loss as to what to ask these two.

Next came Nichelle Nichols. She received two Uhura dolls from the audience. She told us that ST has proven that TV can be a powerful medium to influence people in a positive way. She explained that she works for NASA recruiting people. The Challenger accident had a strong effect on her because three people on board were her recruits. However, she insisted that we must not give up the dream. (Of interest to Nichelle Nichols fans -- at the time of the convention the non-s.f. film she was to appear in was currently in limbo since the company had gone bankrupt.)

Nichelle was followed by Mark Lenard. Mark says that Sarek and Amanda both appear in ST IV -- but on different planets. He exposed the fact that Jane Wyatt refers to Leonard Nimoy as 'Sonny Boy'! Mark appeared twice during the weekend. He confessed to telling a student who said that he looked familiar that he was Leonard Nimoy! He also confessed to being rather nonplussed when his young daughter picked up a ST fanzine he had tossed in the back seat of his car, and found a nude centerfold sketch of Mr. Spock. He added that this incident seemed to have no lingering damaging effects on his daughter. He also related a debate about the line in ST III that ended up "My logic is confused where my son is concerned." Originally, it was written as "My logic fails me..." Mark felt this was inconsistent with Sarek's character.

Next was a minimum bid auction. The only really hot item here was a set of ears worn by Leonard Nimoy in ST IV. Nimoy signed verification for them. Final bid: $395.

Leonard arrived at 4:30; naturally the audience went wild! When someone asked him about whales in ST IV, he said he couldn't hear the question. When the same question was loudly repeated, he responded, "This person seems to be asking about whales. (Pause.) Next question!" Later, when someone wanted to know if Saavik is pregnant, he said, "Let's talk about whales!" He says that, script-wise, this is the best ST movie yet. He also informed us that IF a ST V is scheduled, Bill Shatner will be the director. When an audience member asked if Jimmy Stewart is scheduled to play McCoy's father, Leonard stated that he had come to talk, but was being highly entertained.

During Leonard's speech, the mayor of Anaheim presented a certificate honoring the ST cast.

Leonard was followed by an intermission for dinner. I confess to avoiding the wedding of two ST fans (Ray Tanyer and Holly Newell) on stage (as seen on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT!). A fan dressed as Rocky Racoon from Marvel Comics won the costume contest. The trivia super bowl was rather a let-down; the brochure mentioned 'big bucks' for winners, but that translated to $20. We decided to hit the dealers' room at that point, since things in the main room were rather slow; however, the dealers' room shut down at 7:30 (which annoyed us a great deal). We headed to Disneyland to run around, and so I cannot report on the ST play or Walter Koenig's party.

There was one other major problem at this con -- it didn't have theatre seating. The chairs were all at one level, which made it hard to see the speakers or film presentations. The ballroom was huge, and did a good job of holding the vast crowd, but I think better arrangements could have been made to allow the fans to see what was going on.

Day Two: We entered the Grand Ballroom the next day to hear Walter Koenig, who did a charming presentation of Koenig/human vs. Chekov/character. Koenig pointed out that Chekov knew nothing about the glories of sex; he never got beyond a kiss on the screen. Chekov (with appropriate Russian accent) replied that Koenig never saw what was on the cutting room floor. Koenig said, "Oh, the blooper reels?"

During the question session, someone asked him about whales. Walter said, "Look. My good friend, Leonard, was here and he didn't talk about the whales. He's the director, and is still editing the film. Do you think I'm going to talk about whales? I might end up on the cutting room floor!" He added that everyone would be happy with ST IV because Chekov gets hurt again. He then commented that Chekov has matured; this time he does a silent scream.

Mark Lenard returned to the stage. When asked how Sarek felt when he first saw Spock after several years of separation in "Journey to Babel", he said that he was busy worrying about whether or not he could do the Vulcan greeting without time to practice it!

Next came DeForest Kelley. He said that McCoy gets to do some real doctoring in ST IV. He read his newest poem, which included such lines as, "In ST III, Spock wanted to die/Until Leonard saw it was going to fly./Who would imagine this early defector/Would return as our director?" He plans to have the poem printed up and released when he's through editing. When asked if he would deliver Saavik's baby, he responded, "Certainly if I can get those damned ears out!" One member of the audience said that he had a sick aunt at home; could the doctor come by? Kelley shot back, "I'm a doctor, not an exterminator!"

We had to leave to catch our flight home, so that ended our participation in the con. Overall: Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, it was worth the money. And, yes, I would have bid on the ears if it hadn't been cash and carry only!

1988 (22 Years)

Some controversy: Zine Piracy and 1988 Confrontations

1989 (23 Years)

June 1989 at the Los Angeles Hilton.

1989: Guests

William Shatner, George Takei, Mark Lenard, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, Walter Koenig, Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett, Spice Williams, Susan Sackett, Todd Bryant (Klaa in ST5), Cynthia Gouw (Calthlin Dar in ST5), Guy Vardeman and Richard Arnold, and more.

1989: Art Portfolio

Chuck Frazier was the artist of an art portfolio offered there for sale.

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1989: Con Reports

AT THE LOS ANGELES HILTON JUNE '89! WITH GUESTS: WILLIAM SHATNER, GEORGE TAKEI, NICHELLE NICHOLS, JAMES DOOHAN, MARK LENARD, MARINA SIRTIS, JONATHAN FRAKES, GENE AND MAJEL, AND MORE AND MORE! That's a crowded 48 hours! The impressions are jammed door to door in my head and now I'm sitting in an Amtrak railways carriage behind a train that is hoisting itself up the Rockies while I try to remember it all.

There are guests, two whole days of them - one after another - from eleven in the morning until seven in the evening! It would take a whole newsletter to recall what everyone said and did but who can forget the demon tornado that is William Shatner live. He bursts on to the stage, brimming with energy, full of funny stories, engaging in a knock down match with the audience. He's devastating! The audience love it but no one dares to ask a serious question!

George Takei is as dapper as ever with a message of tolerance for the future and the story of his parents’ internment during the last war. Jimmy Doohan gives a full throated rendering of "Captain, there be whales here!" Walter Koenig, declaims that although he is "not a company man" he enjoyed making ST, and thought the director was sensitive and considerate to the actors (this was the general verdict, it seemed). He says, though, that he does not think ST5 is as good as ST4. Mark Lenard, witty as always, gives us, by popular request "the red telephone story", plus an update on his planned two-hander with Walter Koenig Called "The Boys in Autumn", it shows Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as middle-aged men and is still in the planning stages.

Nichelle Nichols looks simply stunning, having lost weight especially for the movie. She tells us of the agonies of working with Spice Williams (who plays the Klingon, Vixis). One of the highlights of the con comes when she tells us how she meant to leave the cast in the early days, frustrated by, "Hailing frequencies open", but was persuaded to remain by Martin Luther King because as Uhura, a black woman doing a responsible job, she was playing a new and vital role in the movement. She says she's very happy with the character development in the film.

Spice Williams is a body builder, had boundless energy, and a bright Californian tan. (A sunbed tan, she tells us, for the movie.) She regales us with tales of learning Klingonese and the work she had to do to get the part. Both she and Charles Cooper, a Hollywood veteran (hope he doesn’t mind me saying that) who worked with Hitchcock and who plays General Korrd obviously enjoyed their time on the ST5 set and are clearly having great fun at the con.

The appearance of Marina Sirtis is a surprise if you think she’s like the reserved, intense character she plays. Marina is... frizzy is the only word. If the fans ask silly questions she tells them! And if they ask the same thing twice she tells them off for not listening. The fans love it but a man leaves in the middle of her talk.

She yells, "Oi, where are you going?"

"My wife’s having a baby!"

She stands staring after him. "His wife’s having a baby and he’s at a Star Trek con!"

Another surprise comes with Jonathan Frakes. "Hugs are us!” he roars, crashing on stage, hugging armfuls of happy fans. “Kisses are us!" The fans are ecstatic. Another star with demon energy.

Gene and Majel have the last spot. Fans ask the same unanswerable questions. "Will there be more Klingons in STNG... more Vulcans... more of Q?" Each time the same polite answer: it depends on the writers. Gene says, perhaps a little tiredly, that he wishes people would leave him in peace to get on with the lob of entertaining the fans. He announces that Diane Muldaur will he leaving the series and Gates McFadden will be returning. He explains that a tension had been lost in the series which they wanted to restore.

After all this there is still the evening cabaret. We abandon this (and an enormous queue) and go to dinner with some friends.

Now the hardened con-goers among you might at this stage be muttering about professional cons and the contrast with the 'amateur' variety and I understand there has been some controversy of late in another fandom on this issue. So without taking sides, here are a few observations! Creation Cons are run to make money. They are run efficiently and they provide one factor of the 'con scene' in abundance: guest at era. (Especially at this con which is the biggest, an annual bash). (In addition to the list above were Susan Sackett, Todd Bryant (Klaa in ST5), Cynthia Gouw (Calthlin Dar in ST5), Guy Vardeman and Richard Arnold as well as a vary effective group of stuntmen who gave a demonstration!) There is also a film room and the largest dealers' room you can imagine. If you put together all the dealers' rooms of all the cons that have ever been held in Britain, you get the idea? On the other hand, it was necessary to queue each day for seats in the hall (the LA Hilton put their three ballrooms together) if you wanted to get anywhere near the front. Some fans did not go to bed on Saturday night, they began queueing at 1 am. This led to people keeping seats for others and the resultant outrage of those who had been waiting since the early hours. With some thought about a seat numbering system of some kind, all this might be avoided.

At a professionally run con, fan access to the guests (with some exceptions) is limited to their formal appearances. But you do get to see them. There is no fan run programme of talks and discussions or evening activities (the cabaret was a first at this con) and if you are very shy it might be difficult to make friends, but sit down in a queue and someone is sure to talk to you. Americans are more immediately convertible than we are, perhaps. There are no name badges which I did find a drawback, for the shy it means you have to introduce yourself and you can't search for names of people whose stories you have read. The dealers' room might be huge but I wasn't much tempted. Almost all the merchandise had a similarity about it and moat of the dealers were professionals (they don't display their names either). There were some fan dealers, who mostly shared tables. The cost of a table here was $200.

1990 (24 Years)

Los Angeles: June 23-24, 1990

Guests were John DeLancie, Colm Meany, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, Majel Roddenberry, Richard Arnold (and his slide show), Wil Wheaton, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and Gene Roddenberry.

Included a tribute to DeForest Kelley during what sounds to be a terrible cabaret.

1990: Con Reports

John DeLancie spoke to a stand room only crowd on Saturday. DeLancie is not a Star Trek fan, but he handled the sometimes silly questions lobbed at him by fans with great tact and good humor.

[...]

Marina Sirtis obviously disagrees with the decision to squash the relationship between Riker and Troi, and admits that she and Jonathan Frakes still try to do things to let fans know the spark is still there. "We're always making eyes at each other across the bridge, we give each other these little looks so you know something is going one.

[...]

In contrast to the speaker packed day, the first hour and a half of the Saturday evening’s cabaret was embarrassingly awful. We weren't the only fans to question Creation's decision to bring out a three member band to play a medley of TV show themes. This group made half a dozen false starts on the opening strains of the theme to ‘I Dream of Jeanne" and each time their equipment let out a deafening static while. They finally bowed to the inevitable and introduced the next scheduled performance, a trained animal act. No, I’m not kidding. Don't ask me to explain the connection of dancing dogs and trained pigs to Star Trek. Since were hadn’t paid extra for reserved seating and were sitting in the south forty, we couldn’t see a thing.

Once the animals were ushered out, comedian Kevin Pollack gave a rehash of his routine: ’Star Trek VI, the Search for Cash.' This, at least, was on the subject, and Pollack’s talent to do famous voices is phenomenal. However, since most Trek fans can lip-synch his routine, and considering the number of years it’s been circulating, it was certainly nothing new.

When we had almost given up hope of any real entertainment, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura of the classic Star Trek) swept onto the stage to perform excerpts from her one woman show, ‘Reflections.’ Fans watched in fascination as the woman on stage became Eartha Kitt, Pearl Bailey, Billie Holliday, and Lena Horne, belting out original songs written especially for each impersonation. Not forgetting the tastes of her audience, she closed the show as Uhura, singing ‘If They Could See Me Now,' referring to her cohorts aboard the Enterprise, and slinking about the stage just as her 23rd century counterpart might if she had transported down on the sly to entertain adoring fans. Nichols’ performance was incredible, and the saving grace of the entire cabaret As one fan remarked later, ‘They should have started with Nichelle, and cut out all that other crap.’ There were nods of agreement all around.

The first speaker we heard Sunday was Majel Barrett Roddenberry... Since she is also Gene Roddenberry's wife, she responded to a good many questions about Gene's involvement in STVI and the resolution to the season three ST:TNG cliffhanger. She told us that Roddenberry, was of course, interested in the progress of STVI, and the Academy story proposed by Harve Bennett. One fan asked if there was a chance Roddenberry might actually write the script for ST6. Barrett responded to that with a plea to the fans not to think of suggesting such a thing. "He's put so much into Trek, so many years, and now he's ready to take it easy. He's earned that right, don't you think?"

[...]

One comment Richard Arnold made about the episode, "Ensigns of Command" was that apparently in the first draft of the script, Data slept with his female accomplice... several times. "This was changed, of course," Arnold confides. "They didn't want Data to become an intergalactic dildo."

[...]

Gene Roddenberry, the final speaker of the convention fielded questions with the assistance of his wife, Majel. Roddenberry mentioned that he was taking a less active role in ST: TNG. "I've reached a point in my life where I'm ready to step aside, and let others take the helm." He reminded fans that producing a weekly television show is a grueling job which takes its toll, and that although he was not officially retiring, he was certainly going to cut down on his workload. He had little to say about STV, except to mention that Paramount had not heeded his warnings about the script, and that it had been an unfortunate and costly mistake.

1991 (25 Years)

June 7-9, 1991 at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton

1991: Ephemera

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  first page of a 1991 flyer

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  first page of a 1991 flyer: "IT WILL ONLY HAPPEN ONCE DURING OUR LIFETIME. Will You Be There?"

1992 (26 Years)

1992: Ephemera

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  a fan's ticket stub, $35 for floor seating (dates are odd, says it's 25 years, but that was last year...)