A quick note – this is a blog entry I originally published on August 26, 2016 after attending The Official Star Trek Las Vegas Convention the year fandom celebrated the 50th anniversary of the show we adore. I no longer manage that other blog, but thought it would be fun to share my story here a few days after the 2022 season finale of one of the more recent iterations of Star Trek aired.
It’s just a few weeks since I returned from the massive fiftieth anniversary edition of Star Trek: Las Vegas, one of the largest official meccas held each year for fans of the series. Despite what I would think of rather impressive Star Trek fan credentials, last year was the first time I’d ever attended a convention — “Con” as it apparently called in proper parlance — of any kind, Star Trek or otherwise. It was an incredibly welcoming experience, one that my friend and I happily re-upped for when dates for this year’s version became available.
But I feel obligated to point out that the very prospect of being surrounded by others who know as much (or possibly more) about the intricacies of this universe I have grown to love was, frankly, a bit intimidating — and the leading reason why it took so long for me to go in the first place.
Yes, I have a poster of the USS Enterprise hanging on my office wall. Yes, I could quite likely quote you almost every line from the classic movies. No, I don’t have a pair of pointed ears in a drawer somewhere, though I will admit to having a Next Generation costume hanging in my closet. I have books and books and books on the production history of the show, ranging from how the sets were designed to the thoughts behind the various models used throughout the various movies and television incarnations. I even know (somewhat obscurely, to be sure) that Lucille Ball lost Desilu over Star Trek — but that without her support, the show would never have made it onto the air in the first place.
My fear, going into that first convention, was that I knew too little about the series to fit in among the fans that would attend such an event. I don’t remember every single episode of any version of the show, a problem that made it rather difficult to recognize the various guest stars that were at the convention but had only been in one (or perhaps two) episodes in some minor way. But on the other hand, seeing these obscure actors encouraged me to go back and re-watch those old episodes again, an experience that became something like visiting with an old friend you hadn’t seen in years.
This year more than last year, I started to feel like I was really part of the crowd. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing it is to tell a Star Trek-related joke, and have everyone in the immediate area actually (1) understand the context and (2) get the punchline without any additional explanation. I’ve even come to understand how important the show has been to others, sometimes on incredibly personal levels.
I’ve gone to plenty of corporate conferences and learned how to work a room full of colleagues; working through a room full of passionate Star Trek fans, though, is a different creature entirely (pun intended). I have found that what sets a Star Trek convention apart is the genuineness of the people who attend and the almost uniform belief in that more perfect future the show represents. It’s almost breathtaking in scope.
This year also helped me to realize, or perhaps to simply remember, how important a show it was to me growing up. The more “evolved sensibilities” of the future (yes, I am quoting) provided an intelligent, thoughtful universe that helped me to survive the daily grind of teenage politics. Star Trek successfully taught me that there was a better future in store, and not just in the twenty-third century.
I had plenty of solid role models in my life, but I can’t deny they were all buttressed by Mr. Spock’s cool logic, Dr. McCoy’s vibrant humanism, and Mr. Scott’s can-do attitude. Captain Kirk told me that leaders can also be human, while Captain Picard taught diplomacy was usually the better course of action. And accomplished female characters such as Chapel (with a Ph.D. and an M.D.), Uhura (fourth in line for command), and Janeway (in command and a scientist of renown) taught me that men and women could work side-by-side as equals.
I could go on and on, but you see my point. Who wouldn’t want to live in that universe?
