Friday, August 12, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'Star Trek' fans descend on Las Vegas

Convention at LV Hilton can bring out a little Andorian in anyone

Giles Aston of London, who looks a lot like Captain Jean-Luc Picard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," visits Thursday with Michel and Marc Sandler of Winstrom, N.J., at the "Star Trek" convention at the Las Vegas Hilton. The convention runs through Sunday. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Tenzin Vassallo, 5, plays Thursday at the Las Vegas Hilton as his father and others talk with Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand on the original "Star Trek" series. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

It must be difficult to publicly maintain that you are not a geek when, in fact, your T-shirt proclaims as much, and you're standing next to your big sister at a "Star Trek" convention.

Nevertheless, that's what Jim Moorhouse did Thursday, the first day of this year's trekkie gathering at the Las Vegas Hilton: the fourth annual Official Star Trek Convention.

"I like to say I'm destroying the stereotype because I'm cool," said Moorhouse, 38, a public relations rep for a sports league who really did seem like a cool guy despite having "GEEK" printed on the front of his T-shirt.

There were, of course, the requisite pasty-white pudgy guys in floppy sandals and tie-dyed T-shirts all over the Hilton's grounds. Organizers say the convention, which runs through Sunday, will attract about 12,000 "Star Trek" fans.

Fans, most of whom were not pudgy or pasty, said it's no surprise that the convention attracts so many people given that "Star Trek" is the greatest television show in history.

"It brings all kinds of people from all walks of life together just to enjoy each other," said Scott Brodeen, a Hollywood prop maker and lifelong Trek fan.

"I enjoy `Star Trek.' I enjoyed the original show so much, in fact, I signed the petition to keep it on the third year," said Brodeen, who gave his age as "over 50."

He said he has made props for several of the "Star Trek" TV series and for most of the movies, as well.

On Thursday, he attended the convention dressed in a getup that included a brown leather jacket with jet packs on the back and dials on his chest. He said it was a replica of a prop he made for a character called "Captain Proton" from "Star Trek: Voyager."

Brodeen said he has been attending "Star Trek" conventions for about 25 years and met his wife eight years ago at such a gathering.

"It shows humans as having matured a little bit," he said of the series. "We will get better than we are now."

That the show and movies hold out hope for the future was a theme echoed by many of the conventioneers.

"What used to be science fiction is now science fact," said Richard Gale, a postal worker from St. Louis. "Now, all we need to have is the transporter and replicator and then we can eliminate poverty and war."

Gale, 45, who was dressed as a bridge crew member from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series, said this was his first convention, though he's been a fan all his life.

"I was 6 years old when it came out," he said of the original 1960s series.

While some conventioneers bemoaned the lack of a "Star Trek" series currently on television, Gale doubted that would dampen fan enthusiasm or convention attendance.

"When you have an audience that spans generation to generation, it's awfully hard for it to collapse," said Monica Gillen, a spokeswoman for Creation Entertainment, the convention's organizer.

That's evident when talking to Cindy Fischer, 45, Moorhouse's big sister.

"For me, the reason I got into it is I had three brothers growing up, and they were all into it," said Fischer, who wore a red 1960s-style "Star Trek" mini-dress and knee-high black boots to the convention.

She said she has four sons, ages 7 to 17, all Trek fans.

"It's no different than any other passion, you know," said Moorhouse, the little brother with the "GEEK" T-shirt. "NFL, NASCAR: How's that any different?"

A man with a bright blue face and antennae poking from his head inched up behind Moorhouse's sister.

"Plus, it has Andorians," said Fischer, who then rummaged for her cell phone, pulled out its antennae, and rubbed it against the antennae of the blue-faced man behind her in what she described as a traditional Andorian greeting.