State University of New York at Buffalo Con

Star Trek Convention
Name:	State University of New York at Buffalo Con
Dates:	March 3, 1984
Frequency:
Location:	State University of New York at Buffalo
Type:
Focus:	Star Trek
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Founding Date:
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State University of New York at Buffalo Con was a casual, one-day, lightly-attended fan gathering in New York State.

George Takei and Walter Koenig were guests.

It included a Chekov Scream-Off, a contest showcasing Pavel Chekov's canon on-screen screaming.

Con Reports

Buffaloed in Stony Brook.

It was great to see Walter again, and this time George Takei appeared with him. The two were at the State University of New York at Buffalo, better known as U.B. However, we had a terrible time finding them because 1) there were no signs anywhere, 2) no one we asked could direct us, and 3) the event was moved to another location!

Eventually we found the right place and went in to join a relatively small crowd of college students in a lecture hall. There was sprinkling of non-student Trekkers in the hall, so we were not the only ones to beam over to the right coordinates. Walter and George were ushered in by slightly awkward introductions but very warm applause. Subsequently, they shared a hand-held microphone to answer questions

(Malacropsky's Malady story -- how Khan knew Chekov -- gets better every time!) and to talk about ST III.

Both felt that the movie will be satisfying, eminently enjoyable, and well-received by fans. Walter said that Gene Roddenberry had seen a rough cut of the film and was quite pleased with it, even stating that it would be the best of the three films. George seemed most impressed with the 'look' or 'tone' of the film; there are more, different sets used in ST III and more varied settings and costumes. There is even a scene with about 100 extras (Vulcans!) wearing elaborate costumes made from bolts of fabric Cecil B. DeMille bought for "The Ten Commandments" but never used. Other news on the movie: Nichelle 'vamps' a young lieutenant; George uses martial arts; Jimmy has some funny lines; and De Kelley has a very interesting and pivotal role. The 'barbaric Spock' -- of the pirated outline for a script some people were selling at conventions -- will not appear. James B. Sikking plays a starship commander, but neither Walter nor George appears in a scene with him.

Both men expressed satisfaction, admiration, and some surprise at the professionalism, care, and concern shown by Leonard Nimoy in his capacity as director of ST III. Walter found him much warmer than he had seemed in the past while playing the role of Spock. All the actors were a little wary at first, finding their way into a new relationship with Leonard as director instead of fellow actor. But he soon won them over, and even fought the studio to keep a scene he sensed to be vital to the film. In the end, Walter and George agreed that they had a more satisfying relationship with Leonard than that which they had developed with the distinguished Robert Wise or the intense Nick Meyer.

There were some striking performances in the 'Chekov Scream-Off' in which volunteers from the audience demonstrated their conception of Chekov's famous scream. The sentimental favorite with the audience was the very small child wearing Mickey Mouse ears whom Walter held up to scream into the microphone.

There were two sessions of questions and answers, a three-part blooper reel, a short filk sing by students, and, at the end, Walter and George signed autographs.