Written by Jacqueline Bundy, edited by Steve Krutzler

A Grand Time At Grand Slam

Sunday was a glorious spring day in Pasadena, California and those attending the final day of Creation’s Grand Slam Sci-Fi Summit seemed determined to soak up both the sunshine and the atmosphere. Spirits were high, attendance was good and there was a lot to see and do. A lot of the chatter was about STAR TREK NEMESIS and ENTERPRISE and as usual there were plenty of clever costumes on display.

The convention opened early, giving fans plenty of time to browse the dealer’s room and chat with the numerous guest stars that filled both autograph rooms. One guest that generated quite a bit of excitement with his attendance was Mark Allen Shepherd, 'Morn' from DEEP SPACE NINE. Mr. Shepherd has been living in Germany and it has been quite some time since he made an appearance at a convention in the United States. In addition to the familiar STAR TREK faces, there were a number of actors from the various STAR WARS films, as well as actors from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ALIEN NATION and a whole host of science fiction productions.

George Takei was first on the main stage and as always he received a warm welcome from the audience. While Mr. Takei had the audience in the palm of his hand in the large auditorium reminiscing about his work on Classic TREK and answering questions, Ethan Phillips and Robert Picardo were signing copies of their books, THE STAR TREK COOKBOOK and THE HOLOGRAM'S HANDBOOK in the Little Theatre. As the two signed, they joked with each other and the fans and graciously posed for photographs.

Following the VOYAGER duo in the Little Auditorium was a special panel discussion devoted to STAR TREK reference titles. Making up the panel were Geoffrey Mandel, author and illustrator of the outstanding STAR TREK: STAR CHARTS. Rick Sternbach, Hugo award-winning illustrator and author of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION TECHNICAL MANUAL. Larry Nemecek, editor of the Star Trek Communicator and author of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION COMPANION and designer and illustrator Tim Earls who has contributed to a number of TREK titles.

Most of those in attendance expressed a strong interest in seeing many of the older STAR TREK reference books updated and had questions about possible future projects. Rick Sternbach explained that many of the reference books that have been published were written to provide a framework for the writers on The Next Generation and then continued to be referenced for the subsequent movies and series. Works such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia, the Star STAR TREK CHRONOLOGY and the TNG tech manual “have formed the technological backbone of all the episodes produced since the late 1980’s”.

Those same titles are fan favorites as well and while Pocket Books continues to publish new reference books, they no longer publish as many as they did. The panel felt that was due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, declining sales, lack of interest in such projects by Paramount and the large number of outstanding web sites that provide the same type of information. As Mr. Nemecek pointed out, “The early 90’s were a different time.”

The panel also fielded questions about their contributions to the production of several of the series and movies including VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE. When one audience member expressed the opinion that Enterprise was not what she expected when she learned the newest series was to be a prequel, the panel encouraged the audience to give Enterprise more time to grow and develop. Mr. Sternbach mentioned the upcoming episode “First Flight” with guest star Keith Carradine and the season ending cliffhanger ("The Expanse"), as episodes he felt would help fans view Enterprise in a different more positive light.

As the panel discussion was winding down it was time for Marina Sirtis and Michael Dorn to take the main stage. Individually each is among the most entertaining and popular convention guests, but when you are lucky enough to see both of them together it is a laugh a minute and Sunday was no exception. Joking about the disappointing performance of STAR TREK NEMESIS, Marina Sirtis asked the audience “Didn’t you get tired of Patrick Stewart talking?” Each admitted to being unhappy with the amount of editing done to the film, feeling that it affected the overall story and that if another film is made, it won’t be a TNG cast film but most likely a mixed cast of some kind.

Fielding questions from the audience Sirtis was asked why she did not get to take the helm during STAR TREK: INSURRECTION? “Whenever they want to crash the ship I get to drive”, she quipped adding that in Nemesis she had no choice, “I was ordered to crash the ship.” One attendee expressed an interest in what type of underwear Mr. Dorn preferred to wear much to the delight of the female members of the audience.

Another questioner asked Michael Dorn about his onscreen relationships, first with Marina’s character 'Counselor Deanna Troi' during TNG’s final season and the subsequently with 'Jadzia Dax' on DS9. Comparing the Worf/Troi relationship to Beauty and the Beast, Mr. Dorn commented that Worf’s relationship with Jadzia meant that Klingon mating practices at last got a little onscreen time. Joking that, “Worf and Jadzia were in sickbay more than anyone else. Every time we had to go to sickbay in the morning the entire station would know what we’d been up to the night before.”

Sharing memories and stories of the cast Dorn said, “I always knew I was in trouble when someone would say wouldn’t it be funny if Worf…”. When asked what their least favorite TNG episode is, both agreed they thought the worst was the first season’s “Code of Honor”. Though only onstage for about 40 minutes, Marina and Michael were the highlight of the afternoon and before leaving they took the time to express their thanks to the crowd for attending and for all the support they’ve received from the fans over the years.