TrekMovie’s Guide to Star Trek Las Vegas 2015

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It’s that time of year again: the Official Star Trek Las Vegas convention is only a week away! TrekMovie’s got your guide to getting the most out of this year’s con including celebs not to miss, costuming tips, details on the Landing Party on Wednesday night (including booze, a trivia contest, and some sweet giveaways), and how to attend a free screening of Star Trek Continues episode 4 (with sneak preview of episode 5) in a full sized theater.

Who, What, Where Not to Miss at the Con

Celebs: Gotta See ‘Em All
William Shatner (Saturday), Sir Patrick Stewart (Sunday), and Kate Mulgrew (Saturday) make three Starfleet captains to headline this year’s event. Along with all the usual suspects, from George Takei to Jeri Ryan to Connor Trineer, you won’t want to miss the only JJ-verse actor of the bunch: Karl Urban (Saturday), Leonard Nimoy’s son Adam Nimoy for his celebration of his father’s life and work (Friday), make-up artist extraordinaire Michael Westmore (Saturday), and executive producer Brannon Braga (Saturday).

Celebrating the life and legacy of Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy’s son, Adam Nimoy, will host a celebration of his father’s life and work at the convention on Friday. Adam will also talk about his latest crowd-funded project, “For the Love of Spock“.

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Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Star Trek Voyager
Creation is pulling out all the stops this year to celebrate 20 years of Voyager. From their website:

We’ve set aside Saturday as a focus day for the incredible celebration we have planned for Star Trek: Voyager’s 20th Anniversary, along with all the other programming and celebrities set for that day. First we ask that cosplayers consider coming dressed in Voyager costumes for Saturday as we’ll be doing a giant photo op for all our attendees.

Our Voyager guests appearing on Saturday so far include, tentatively, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Robert Picardo, Roxann Dawson and Garrett Wang. We are working on adding more of the regular cast as we write. We will also have some educational and fun panels on Voyager’s history set for Saturday in our secondary theatre, so don’t miss a minute of the Star Trek: Voyager 20th Anniversary Celebration in Las Vegas: it only happens ONCE!

As an ultra-special treat to celebrate the Anniversary, legendary make-up master and Star Trek and Hollywood icon Michael Westmore will recreate the character of Chakotay with Robert Beltran, for the first time in public! Cosplayers will have the opportunity to learn from the accomplished master (42 Emmy nominations and an Oscar winner for his work on “Mask”) once again, in the ground breaking tradition started last year when Mr. Westmore worked with Terry Farrell to recreate Dax. Best of all, Robert as Chakotay all be available for a limited number of photo ops on Saturday for fans in a very special premiere occasion, and we think this is amazingly cool! Check photo op section for more details as this is a limited availability item.

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Voyager’s Impact on Female Roles Panel: Saturday
In honor of the 20th anniversary of Voyager, Mary Czerwinski, “The Televixen” along with TrekMovie.com’s Kayla Iacovino, Shoes & Starships’ Amy Imhoff, and Jarrah Hodge of Gender Focus, Trekkie Feminist, and the Women at Warp podcast will discuss how the groundbreaking female characters of Star Trek Voyager influence modern female characters. Do newer TV and film icons stand on the shoulders of the women of Trek? If it wasn’t for Janeway, B’Elanna, Seven and Kes, would there be a Katniss Everdeen, female Starbuck, or the women of Firefly? This interactive discussion encourages audience participation, so start thinking about your favorite female characters and join this spirited celebration of women in sci-fi.

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Costume Contest: Saturday
After all the hard work fans put into their costumes, some will enter the annual Creation costume contest. Adrianne suggests that fun and comfort are important, “Have fun! Wear something that entertains you and be sure to make it comfortable to wear whenever possible. Good footwear and lightweight materials go a long way. Also stay hydrated and don’t forget to eat!” Brooke Wilkins from Utah, a veteran costumer, advises “Show up early for the contest. Go to the bathroom first. You have to account for the extra time it takes to walk the halls with people asking to take your picture. The competition time is excellent for hanging out with your fellow costumers, learning and laughing together. Enjoy it! There’s nothing to be worried about. We’re all just pretending!” Participants should also familiarize themselves with this year’s new contest rules.

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Events of Note

We here at TrekMovie love gathering our Trekkie brethren together for some good old fashion Vegas fun. Here’s what we’ve got lined up for this year’s con.

The Landing Party: Wednesday night at 8pm at the Rio’s Masquerade Bar
TrekMovie.com, Roddenberry’s Mission Log podcast, Larry Nemecek’s Trekland, and Glue Guns & Phasers have teamed up to host a night of fun to kick off your convention weekend. Come on down to the Rio’s Masquerade bar in the main casino area for booze, games, a trivia contest, and some awesome giveaways and contest prizes that you can’t find anywhere else.

Get all the info, sign up, and invite your friends at the official facebook event page.

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Rock out with your Spock out

FREE Star Trek Continues Episode 4 Screening: Friday night at 11:30pm at the AMC Town Square 18 theater
TrekMovie.com is presenting a free screening of Star Trek Continues Episode 4, plus a sneak preview of Episode 5 and a Q&A session with the cast and crew after the show. It all takes place at the AMC Town Square 18 theater, just a short cab ride from the Rio. This year, we’re kicking it up a notch… the bar at the theater will be offering Star Trek themed drinks for you to enjoy during the show! Tickets are free and are first come first served. Get yours by lining up outside the theater before the show (we recommend you arrive 30 minutes to an hour before show time). The first 250 people in line will be guaranteed a seat.

And, you’ll definitely want to stick around for the Q&A session with cast and crew including Actors: Vic Mignogna, Chris Doohan, Michele Specht, Kipleigh Brown, Cat Roberts, Chris Gore, Robert J. Sawyer; Makeup dept heads and co-producer: Tim Vittetoe and Lisa Hansell; Creative Consultant: Larry Nemecek, Sound Designer/Co-Producer: Ralph Miller; Director/Co-Writer: James Kerwin, and your host for the evening: TrekMovie.com’s Kayla Iacovino.

Get all the info, sign up, and invite your friends at the official facebook event page.

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Come see The White Iris on the big screen



 

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I don’t think Seven of Nine belongs in that photo among the great female role models for Star Trek. It’s not Jeri Ryan’s fault, but its common knowledge that character was brought in to sex up the show…it’s exactly the opposite message of what the strong female character of Janeway was trying to say to our culture.

I cannot believe Voyager is 20 years old!! I clearly remember the excitement when I first heard of this proposed ‘new’ series back in 1994, which only grew more and more once the series debuted. The show still feels ‘new’ to me in many aspects… it really just feels like yesterday… where have the years gone….

#1. Prodigal Son – July 30, 2015

I think Rose McGowan has proven, that even now, “sexing up” a female role seems to be an ever present thought running thorough the suits’ minds as acceptable. This is not to justify it but I’m not certain how you show that it was inordinately more out of balance in the casting of Seven of Nine than, say, it was in casting most of the female actresses in Trek prior to VOYAGER?

And you certainly seem to be clear that you don’t believe Jerry Ryan necessarily ran with that.

And then there’s the irony that for a character supposedly brought in to sex up VOYAGER she’s the one character that got the least sex, as I recall. I’d even hazard a guess that she even had less than Tuvok?

1. Sex sells. Even TOS had eye candy for women, i.e., every time Kirk’s shirt got magically ripped off. And if you think society has evolved since then, consider Sex and the City or Cougartown. Women have been empowered to think of men also as exploitable sex objects. Have you ever read about Gene Roddenberry’s life? Sex has always been a part of the success of Star Trek. Star Trek has been about high ideals, but also about pragmatic hedonism. Both are part of life.

Well, this is interesting. The Transamerica convention is in Vegas that weekend…which is where I’ll be. The Rio is a nice hotel…

We will be there.

@ Prodigal Son

Jeri Ryan’s portrayal of Seven of Nine was anything but sexed up. She played a highly intellectual, complex character. About the only sexed up thing was the costume.

3. Disinvited – July 31, 2015
#1. Prodigal Son – July 30, 2015

For my money, the best character development on VOY was that of Seven. I don’t see the character’s sex appeal as mutually exclusive with, or negating in any way, what the character brought thematically to the show. Sex appeal has always and will always be a substantial component of drama. Bill Shatner wouldn’t have been cast as Kirk without his good looks. It’s no accident that his shirt came off so often. Some characters are meant to have sex appeal, others not so much. So long as the sex appeal isn’t totally in lieu of dramatic appeal, I’ve got no problem with it. And Jeri Ryan certainly held her own as a performer on VOY. No sense blaming her for being physically attractive as well.

@Phil – The hacker conference DEF CON will also be in Vegas at that time. Take it from me, if you’re anywhere near DEF CON… DO NOT use the ATMs! Seriously.

@Kayla – It’ll probably be a bad idea to buy gas at any of the gas stations along I-15 on the drive out there, too. MGM is right down the street…

One of these years, I’d love to go to the official Vegas convention. By the time I can afford it, I’m sure I’ll be too old to travel!

Have fun, whoever is going!

#11. Phil – July 31, 2015

“@Kayla – It’ll probably be a bad idea to buy gas at any of the gas stations along I-15 on the drive out there, too. MGM is right down the street…” — Phil

Not if you use cash. Of course carrying enough cash around for a trip to Vegas to avoid needing to use ATM or credit cards carries with it its own unique set of risks but such things were managed in prior eras by many,

Just make sure that if you get pulled over and the cop asks you if you have a large amount of cash in the car, you always answer, “No.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

Yea, that was kind of my point, dude.

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4. Timncc1701 – July 31, 2015
1. Sex sells. Even TOS had eye candy for women, i.e., every time Kirk’s shirt got magically ripped off. And if you think society has evolved since then, consider Sex and the City or Cougartown. Women have been empowered to think of men also as exploitable sex objects. Have you ever read about Gene Roddenberry’s life? Sex has always been a part of the success of Star Trek. Star Trek has been about high ideals, but also about pragmatic hedonism. Both are part of life.

@ Cygnus

Jerry Ryan is a good actress, so I am not “blaming” here for anything. She gave the role 110% and played extremelywell the hand she was dealt.

However, I never “bought into” Seven of Nine as being Borg. Just having that silly tatoo on her head allowed the show to highlight her human looks and body for a largely male audience…and they were obviously leveraging here body to promote the show for this audience. They should have played it straight, and had here in full Borg mode, with the tubes, etc….that, I would have “bought into.”

So yea, I don’t think it’s a great female role model in Star Trek when the show-runners actually go through to the trouble to completely change an alien’s appearance to highlight sex appeal.

I don’t see how having more gear on her head would have brought more to the character of Seven. She started out as a full Borg, with all of the gear, and then the Doctor removed as much of it as possible. Having less gear on her also had the advantage of less make-up time for the actor. Not once, watching that show, did I ever find myself thinking, I just wish that Seven had more gear on her head, because I keep forgetting that she’s a recovering Borg.

@14. Cygnus-X1,

“Just make sure that if you get pulled over and the cop asks you if you have a large amount of cash in the car, you always answer, “No.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

wow, this is a state sanctioned theft.

Hopefully Karl will give some info on Trek Beyond!!
William Shatner will get asked about the movie and say I don’t know anything

@ Cygnus

“Not once, watching that show, did I ever find myself thinking, I just wish that Seven had more gear on her head, because I keep forgetting that she’s a recovering Borg.”

Well, I was constantly wondering just that.

…but then again, I had huge problems in well with other aspects of Voyager…never bought the silly Maquis-derived character of Chakotay, and the holographic doctor bored me to death.

Who was the guy in the form costume and why was he not invited?

So, is it True Creation Banned Wil Wheaton from attending – as a guest or exhibitor several years ago?

Picard was borgified and yet we saw no outward trace that he had even been near the Borg, let alone turned into one. However, there was still internal borg technology that had to remain within Picard.

It seems that the Doctor could not successfully remove all of the external Borg technology from Seven of Nine, even if some internal technology had to remain just as it was in Picard’s case. Not sure why though.

My free Pro Veteran Convention Goers tips for a successful Khan:

1.) Get plenty of rest before the convention as much as possible!
You won’t get much rest once you are there.

2.) Stay hydrated!
It’s pretty easy to forget this. Fortunately there are plenty of free cup and water stations placed around the perimeter of the convention halls. But please make sure to dispose of your cups properly.

3.) Bring snacks!
There are only a few snack machines and vendors close by the convention area, and most assuredly they are going to be a bit pricey. And it’s a long walk back to the main hotel/casino area when you are starving. Try to bring a few snacks that won’t melt in your purse or pocket, but are going to be fulfilling and sustain you for a short while. But please don’t bring things that are going to make a mess in your area. No one likes to wade thru your trash.

4.) Bring items from home for stars to sign!
Yes, there are plenty of things to be found in the vendors room that you can pick up to get signed, and also usually the stars themselves will have their own items that you can buy from them directly at the table. But chances are you might have an item in your own personal collection that they would also be happy to sign that will make for a much more memorable item for your display! But please note: even though you have your own item for them to sign, chances are that they will still charge a nominal fee for their autograph, unless they are doing it on a complimentary basis.

5.) Don’t pester the stars away from the convention area!
We love our favorite stars! But they actually are human, and have very human needs. This is a crazy concept to perceive, I know, but please try not to bother the stars while they are going to the bathroom, etc. No one likes that, and it’s just kind of a tacky thing to do, so please don’t. Stars like their private times to be private.

That’s it for now! Have fun, and see you at the Khan!

Jeri Ryan did a great job. Just a mediocre show. Long list of mediocre, but still loved by many, characters besides Seven of Nine: Quark, Chekov, Deanna Troi, Odo, Neelix, The Doctor…

Star Trek always had female eye candy anyway, the original TOS was full of gratuitous T&A.

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