Reflections on my first Star Trek Conference
Reflections on my first Star Trek Conference
I got back from Las Vegas last night, exhausted, but excited, inspired, but a bit disappointed, all at the same time. I’m a Star Trek fan…
I went to the Star Trek Convention last week - it was my first time there and I had a blast. Overall a great experience and it's safe to say I have some new friends that I'm looking forward to seeing again next year. At the same time, I found all of the cash-only photos and signatures with the actors to be pretty sad/disappointing in a lot of ways.
I wrote an article about my experience, curious to hear what people think about it.
I went to Destination Star Trek in London in 2021. Overall it was a fun enough experience - saw a few interesting talks, met a few of the cast. Even though I ended up spending money I probably wouldn't have spent in a cooler-headed moment, my memories of the day itself were fairly positive as a one-off experience.
But it ended up leaving a nasty aftertaste for me. Most of the Discovery cast were there and they were promoting season 4 pretty hard (which was due to premiere the following week), but then a couple of days later CBS pulled Discovery from Netflix and announced it would now solely air on Paramount+, a service which was yet to launch in the UK at that time... I don't blame the Disco cast (whose social media reaction suggests they were as surprised as the rest of us) but it did make me feel like the franchise collectively had cashed in on UK fans' enthusiasm and then told us to fuck off.
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I have a who is a screen actor and they often work for very little pay. Even a recurring character on a hit TV show might not even be making enough to afford health insurance.
This friend recently landed a small but important role in a movie that gained somewhat of a "cult" status after its release. The money he makes from selfies and autographs at conventions is sometimes the only money he earns that month. I can see why it disappoints fans, but I can also understand these actors who are just trying to stay afloat. Especially the Trek actors who often don't seem to get much other work.
Thanks and good feedback, probably something I guess is just a reality these days. For me it feels like, without the fans the actors wouldn't have jobs so why not give out autographs and photos for free supporting the people who support you?
I've never been to a con, and likely never will, but it's a lot of work for an actor to be there. They take time out of their lives, have to be charming, and operate the assembly line of autographs on a multi day event. I'm not sure there's a clearly correct answer, but them being there is a real job with real work. Having them do it all gratis is a big ask.
However, to be fair, there is a difference between going to a convention you are interested in and working a convention.
The actors are giving days of their lives to come to the cons and need to be compensated for it.
While I would find it creepy to pay for the time, I also see it as a sign of respect on fans’ part and as a way to make sure that the whole process is run safely and respectfully. But then, even in the old, old days of Trek conventions before paid availability, I felt uncomfortable to approach the actors and other panelists in the very limited time that they were out on the floor.
If not for the paid signings and photo ops, there would be fewer stars at these events. The old 80s and 90s cons had at most one or two actors and a producer, designer or writer. The price for admissions would be higher and there likely would be less availability for photos and autographs, and it would be poorly managed.
I’ve been to both political conventions and amateur sports events with photo ops and signings. In one case, the politician had a photographer who literally followed up with an ‘opportunity’ to buy the photo. (I’d rather use my own camera.) The sports star was mobbed and just took and signed pieces of paper and handed them back without interacting. Neither was a good experience for me.
Glad you had fun at the con.
The autographs used to be free, in the early days. That changed in the last 25 years.
I haven’t been to a Star Trek event but having the handlers act abrasive would certainly irritate me as well and it doesn’t matter if I was paying for a photo op or getting it free. I imagine it’s probably a local security group they are contracting so the staff are probably more used to being bar bouncers but someone should give them a speech on the proper way to engage during these types of events.
People pay money to get a pic with a celebrity? LoL.
I'm surprised by how similar your convention perception is with mine, as the last time I attended a science fiction convention was in the early 1990s. The conventions I went to were always a mix of all the scifi out by that time. I've never been to a Star Trek only convention. I always had a grand time with other convention goers. We were all there for a shared love of science fiction. It was like being with a huge group of friends, where you could start a conversation with anyone. The cosplay was varied and wonderful. It was a chance to shop with non-local vendors. Some selling unusual, hard to find pre-Internet, scifi themed mass produced items, and some artists selling their own creations.
I did have chances to meet some Star Trek stars. In 1970-something -- before TMP was released, I met George Takei when I was heading towards a hall for a panel, and noticed someone sitting at table in the large hallway outside. It was Mr. Takei! I was so shocked, I babbled. He was so nice and charming, and he didn't call security on me, lol. I met Nichelle Nichols at another convention. The line to meet her was crazy long. The event coordinators said that she was leaving at a set time, no matter how many were still waiting to meet her. Ms. Nichols said that she wasn't leaving until everyone who was waiting in line met her. That fans helped her get to where she was, and she was going to meet those fans. Kind to everyone, and took photos. Absolutely a class act. I had a chance to briefly meet DeForest Kelley not long before he passed. He was obviously ill, but still was there for the Star Trek fans, talking and telling anecdotes about TOS. A wonderful person who is still missed.
I saw Sir Patrick Stewart, Mirina Sirtis, and Micheal Dorn at a convention not long after TNG was first out. I actually met Micheal Dorn by being in line for an autograph. I didn't want an autograph, I just wanted to meet Micheal Dorn. Based on the crowd's reaction and comments when Mr. Dorn spoke early that day, I wasn't the only one who was surprised by just how good looking that man is under the Worf makeup. Sir Patrick and Mr. Dorn seemed shocked by the size and enthusiasm level of the crowd. Ms. Sirtis was just amazing and loving it. Funny, charming, and delightfully loquacious.
When "pay for a picture or autograph" became the norm was when I stopped going to conventions. I'm not big on autographs, and I wasn't interested in paying for photos. The fans at the convention were still great to be with. I do miss that part of attending conventions, the being with other fans.
So interesting to hear how the conferences used to be. Sounds like we've had a very similar experience, and yes - such a wonderful feeling meeting and being around the energy of other excited fans. Pretty much no show on the planet has fans like Star Trek does, and without the fans, the show wouldn't exist today.
Based on the available seating there must have been a lot red shirts present. /s
I’ve been going to cons for years…$50-$80 is actually pretty normal for an autograph. Some of the Star Wars actors charge like $300 for theirs.
I think a lot more people would have gone but with the actors and writers strike a lot of people pulled out