TrekTopia Day 1: The 49 Year Mission

     Yesterday, hordes of Trekkies descended upon the Westin O'Hare for Creation Entertainment's 49 Year Mission Celebration in Chicago, and the fans were ready to greet their heroes. Chase Masterson started off the affairs by appearing onstage, talking about her recent work, and even doing some singing. After that it was time to welcome Garrett Wang to the stage, where he shared some anecdotes related to attending conventions, as well as relaying to us fans the story he wanted to see written for Harry Kim. Once Wang left the stage, fans were given the chance to test their knowledge by answering Trek trivia either Yes or No, with the winner of each round not only recieving a $200 gift certificate, but then being invited back onstage for further rounds with the ultimate potential to collect $1,200 worth of certificates.


     The festivities continued with Terry Farrell coming up to talk about her experiences being a model at the age of 17, working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and her journey of learning to stand up for herself. After that Armin Shimerman came up to talk about his instrumental role in the evolution of the Ferengi on Star Trek, from their marauding first appearance on Next Generation to their current role as hapless, chauvinistic hyper-capitalists. John Tenuto then proceeded to come up and give a talk about the making of Star Trek VI, showing some rare production photos and sharing insider stories, such as the fact that all scenes on the Klingon prison planet in the movie were actually flipped(i.e. outdoor scenes were shot inside and indoor scenes were shot outside).


     After Tenuto gave out more informative nuggets of knowledge, Ethan Phillips took the stage. Phillips spent the time reflecting on his experiences working on Benson, Star Trek Voyager, and other work. Then the stage cleared and Terry Farrell was signing autographs on one side of the stage while Ethan Phillips was signing on the other. With that, Day 1 ended. We're back right now for Day 2, and I'll be back with those updates.

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