Star Trek Las Vegas Salutes Deep Space Nine 

Star Trek Las Vegas Salutes Deep Space Nine

Convention in Las Vegas kicked off on Friday morning and zipped at warp speed into the afternoon and late into the night. There was a seemingly endless array of activities, from Trek guests galore appearing on the main stage in the Roddenberry Theatre and the secondary stage in the DeForest Kelley Theatre to photo ops and autograph opportunities.

Fans arriving for the event saw several new additions, including free photo ops on a transporter pad and in the Guardian of Forever, a wall of Juan Ortiz TOS art prints, new signage, an eating space called Quark\'s Bar, etc. Also new was a promenade with artisans drawing caricatures, creating balloon Enterprises and applying henna tattoos.

By 8 a.m., fans were in the Kelley Theatre for a StarTrek.com Craft Workshop, followed later by a NASA presentation by Brian Day, who focused on "Living in a Crowded Universe." Creation, to mix things up, grouped actors together for memorable panels and reunions.

While it meant fans didn\'t hear extensively from any one actor, it was a sight to behold the quartet of Natalija Nogulich, Don Stark, Mark Shepherd and Lee Arenberg, and, later on, a DS9 reunion featuring Colm Meaney, James Darren, Hana Hatae, Nana Visitor, Jeffrey Combs, Rene Auberjonois and Terry Farrell.

Among the biggest laughs were those resulting from comments by Meaney and Darren. Meaney recounted hearing the now-24-year-old Hatae, who played Molly, say "Hi Daddy." He "got a scare when she came up to me and said that. I was like, \'No! What. Me!?\' But that\'s my Molly, all grown up."

Host Adam Malin called Darren an enduring sex symbol, which prompted Darren to joke, "I can\'t help it." On the serious side, Visitor noted that Kira was "too much" for some people and mused, "I wonder now if she\'d be a main character on a show. I don\'t know."

Over in the Kelley Theatre, Creation presented another unique combo of guest stars: John Schuck, Daniel Davis and Catherine Hicks.

For trivia fans out there, Schuck\'s ex-wife Susan is married to Leonard Nimoy. "And," Schuck noted, "Leonard has been a wonderful stepfather to my son." Soon after, Jordan Hoffman led a large and pretty raucous StarTrek.com One Trek Mind Live panel. The mission: determine the top 10 Best Klingons. Jadziai Dax almost made the cut, but didn\'t for the simple reason she wasn\'t a Klingon. Here\'s the Top 10, in order...

Back in the main room, Harlan Ellison and Grace Lee Whitney shared the stage. Whitney spoke of overcoming her troubles, including alcoholism. Ellison once again told curse-laden but entertaining stories that we can\'t really repeat. One amusing moment: a fan repeats a question for Ellison, who snaps "I\'m old, not senile!" A highlight was a youmy female fan joining Whitney and Ellison on stage for a Janice Rand moment.

Next up, StarTrek.com presented Next Gen Into High Definition - The Final Voyage, with Roger Lay Jr. presiding over a panel that included veteran Trek director James Conway and Mike and Denise Okuda.

The season seven TNG Blu-ray set will be out in the near future, capping three years of work on digital upgrades and the bountiful extras. The mission of the CBS team, Mike Okuda said, was to "get your heads into the minds of the original artists." Conway called it a job well done, saying, "The CBS team improved the quality to what it was you hoped it would have been when you made it." Denise Okuda teased one of the 7th season Blu-ray extras. After the show ended but before the sets were torn down, there were closed sets, no visitors, no photos. "Well," she said, "one day we did (go on set, video camera in hand)." Look for that rare footage on the Blu-ray.

Next, Cirroc Lofton and Tony Todd reminisced about the heartbreaking DS9 hour "The Visitor." Avery Brooks was meant to join them but canceled his convention appearance due to illness. "Avery can use everyone\'s thoughts and prayers," Lofton said. "Let\'s put those positive thoughts out there for him."

Two back to back panels in the big room attracted numerous fans. First, everyone was treated to the grouping of Sally Kellerman, Tania Lemani, BarBara Luna and Celeste Yarnall. "They call us the ladies of Trek," Luna said, "but I think of us as the babes of Trek." Yarnall noted, "I was on a panel with two scientists once and I got to say, \'I was in space before you.\' They replied that they went to space because of me."

The next panel featured even more Trek guests: Hallie Tood, Suzie Plakson, Jerry Hardin, Gwynyth Walsh and Robin Curtis. Hardin\'s turns as Twain brought him back to Twain\'s books, which led to a one-man Twain show "which I toured for many years." Plakson loved the female Q more than any of her other Trek roles, describing it as "Oscar Wilde meets Bewitched."

Finally, the Kelley Theatre filled with fans and media as two fans -- Mark and Amy, who met on a long line at Creation\'s Vegas show two years ago -- tied the knot... Trek-style.

Music played in the background as UFP flag bearers led the processional. There were dozens of Trek-clad figures in that processional, not to mention a Wookiee, a Jedi knight and a bounty hunter, those last three from a galaxy far, far away.

The bride wore a pink dress and carried a pink Tribble, while the groom wore white. The bride\'s bestfriend summed things up perfectly as she helped wed the couple... "This celebrates everything we love... Love, Marriage and Star Trek all rolled into one." The crowd cheered.

And there was more... A Captain\'s Chair party in the Rio\'s Voodoo Lounge, plus karaoke and hundreds of fans in costume.

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