About a month or so before Christmas, 2011, I was looking around the Hallmark shop in an attempt to ward off boredom. I walked up and down the aisles, watching as children briefly handled delicate objects before their parents snatched them away, nearly breaking the object themselves in the process.
When I finally got over to the back wall, I saw two of the most beautiful ornaments I had ever seen.
They only had two of the three Star Trek ornaments released for 2011, as they were not selling the Romulan Bird of Prey at the time. They did, however, have a Spock figure and a Mirror, Mirror figure featuring Mirror Spock and McCoy. (Click images to enlarge)
This particular figure ($29.95) portrays Mirror Spock and McCoy as seen in the episode Mirror, Mirror, in which Mirror Spock forcibly withdraws information about the transporter malfunction from McCoy through a mind meld. Unfortunately I missed last year's scene ornament, which depicted the battle between Kirk and Spock in Amok Time.
This figure was sculpted by Valerie Shanks, and is 4.75 inches tall. When the button on the base is pressed, this dialogue plays:
Our minds are merging, Doctor. Our minds are one. I feel what you feel. I know what you know.
I must say, however, that McCoy's face looks very strange. Mirror Spock, on the other hand, looks like a Vulcan Jesus (but in a sexier, more sinister way than Sybok).
The second figure ($14.99) of Mister Spock was sculpted by Anita Marra Rogers, and is actually the second in a series of ornaments titled "Star Trek Legends" (the first, of course, being Captain Kirk in 2010). It is 4.5 inches tall, and looks... sad.
I mean, I absolutely love this figure - but from a certain angle (see photo above) he just has such a sad face. The clothing, however, is more well done - more attention seems to have been paid to the detail on the shirt and insignia.
Fun fact: Anita didn't watch Star Trek until she started working on the ornaments.
I am quite looking forward to this year's Hallmark figures, which will be the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, "An Extraordinary Meeting" (NuSpock and Spock Prime, with sound), and Doctor McCoy. I am equally as excited for the 2013 figures, which will be Scotty, a scene ornament depicting the battle between Kirk and the Gorn from Arena (with sound), and the USS Kelvin from Star Trek XI. I sincerely wish that I had started collecting these sooner.
Looking through the T-Shirt section at Comic Con is always fun, for two reasons: firstly, I love nerdy T-shirts. And secondly, I love puns. A couple of years ago I found the most amazing Doctor Who shirt in the history of Doctor Who shirts:
I neglected to take a close-up photo of the shirt, so I borrowed an image taken by geospizafortis:
Oh, and if you feel like you really need this shirt (which you should), you can buy one HERE. Unfortunately, they will not be shipping using TardEx Express - you will have to wait for shipping.
At the beginning of March, as some of you may recall, I had a chance to meet Michael Dorn at the Comic and Toy Expo - I took a lot of video and a few pictures, but I never quite got to uploading them as I promised. This changes today.
I actually saw him on the Saturday, but I was to shy to go up and speak with him. He was sitting at the desk, but there was nobody there - people seemed to be ignoring him. I tried to get up the courage to say hello, but to no avail. I did, however, manage a greeting as I passed him in the hall later that day - to which he responded and practically melted my brain with his charm.
I did go over to talk to him the next day, and had him sign a DS9 publicity photo. We spoke for a while, and then I gallivanted off to search through the comics.
And then came the Q&A session. He is hilarious - a very funny guy. He answered a lot of questions, including a couple of mine, and spoke about how he got the role, the shenanigans going on when the camera wasn't rolling, and how the DS9 cast was much more serious than the TNG cast. I would highly recommend watching the video I took, even if the picture quality gets pretty bad for a couple of minutes. For those who do not wish to watch the videos, I wrote out some quotes as well.
"They called (About TNG casting), and they said 'Aw, too late - we've already had everybody cast, and if anything happens in the future we'll let you know'. And to me, that's a big brush off, so you kind of go 'Okay, thanks, goodbye, later.' And then two weeks later, I get a call - and my manager says 'Hey Michael, they want to see you for the role of a Klingon' - and I knew, I mean I was a fan of the original so I knew what they wanted. So that's - that's how it happened.
"I was in an acting class at the time, and this wonderful teacher taught me how to - you know, you walk in the building - you walk in the set - you walk, wherever you're gonna go to audition as the character.
And so I walked in, very stern, and not very talking to people, and people are like 'Hey Michael, how you doing?' (Michael glares sternly) And I went up to the secretary and I said (in what we now know as Worf's voice) 'Excuse me. Is there a place where I can be by myself.' And she goes 'uh... yeah, over there' ... 'Thank you.' And I walked in there and I sat by myself, and then I went into the audition, and I knew - you know, I've seen Gene Roddenberry, and Bob Justman, and all these people - and they're sitting there. And I wanna go 'Hey, Gene! Hi!' you know, but - I was very stern, I didn't crack a smile and just did it, and left. And said, 'thank you very much.' and left. And that's how it happened. And I guess they probably just went, '... he's nuts.' you know? 'We like him.'"
"I think the Worf and Dax thing was a great story line."
"I still think she (Nicole) should have ended up with Worf. At the very end, when he's leaving, she goes... looks at Julian, and says 'I'm sorry, Julian, I can't do this. I belong with Worf.' and goes off with him - but that didn't happen."
I got to ask a couple questions of my own - I asked, first of all, if he related at all to Worf:
"I'm kind of the same - I'm a little gruff and surly at times - you know, I didn't think I was, but I am."
"I actually learned a lot, or admired a lot, about Worf - because he was really a strong character and all that, but he was also learning, and trying to understand , you know, Klingons, and aliens, and things like that and he was struggling with it, but he was, he was learning."
"Worf wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the world - I mean, it wasn't he was stupid, but he was just sort of like - he didn't understand... people. In general. 'You want me to do that? Really?' You know? And I'm kind of like that too."
And then I asked him if he like swimming, or if it was too much like bathing: "Too much like bathing. No, actually, I like to bathe... (starts laughing) I'm sorry..."
"My favorite piece of technology, which was on Deep Space Nine, was... the Defiant. Yeah, you know - that's a very cool ride."
"There's a youtube video that somebody put together of Worf getting shit down every time he says something, you know? Which is pretty funny. 'Well Captain I think we should -' 'No, Mister Worf, Shut up!'... It's a very funny video..."
"Whenever Patrick and Jonathan would be standing at the screen, and I'm back there and I have to be very serious, and they'd turn and walk back to their seats - they were always making faces at me." "And you'll see in a couple episodes, I'm like this - (looks down, pretending to concentrate on the console,, pressing buttons)"
"One time he (Patrick Stewart) actually ran, jumped on his chair and jumped over the horseshoe to get at me - I don't know why... but he jumped up and I caught him - and I'm holding him like this (arms stretched out in front of him) and he looks at me and he went 'Aaaw, I love you Mister Worf.'"
A local news crew also asked him to, for the camera, repeat the line from First Contact - "If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand". He did - but Michael, that's not how you said it in the movie! I'll forgive you, though - it's been a little while.
One more overdue post before I go to the Comic and Toy Expo tomorrow, this one involving one of my favorite Star Trek actors of all time - Ethan Phillips. Ethan Phillips not only played Neelix on Star trek Voyager, but he also played Farek (Ferengi) in the TNG episode "Ménage à Troi, Ulis (Ferengi) in the ENT episode "Acquisition", and the head waiter in Star Trek: First Contact.
I had the privilege of sitting in the front row during the Q&A, but there was no flash allowed so most of the pictures I took were blurry. A couple of them turned out, however:
I got to ask him a question midway through, and I chose to ask him how he felt about the relationship between Neelix and Tuvok. He turned to the crowd and told everybody that I just asked him if he "had always been this good looking", and that he had been (I must agree). He went on to answer my question though, and talked about how - first of all - Tim Russ is nothing like the character he played. I can personally confirm this - he is a very up-beat and blatantly humorous man, nothing like Tuvok. He went on to talk about how Neelix "wore his feelings on his sleeve", something that Tuvok both found distasteful and secretly admired.
Hopefully he will come back to the city in the future, as I would love to see him again. As for this weekend, I will have a chance to speak to Michael Dorn and sit in on/participate in his Q&A. There are also a few guests that are as of yet unannounced - I will be taking pictures.
This weekend I will be attending the Comic and Toy Expo, so I have decided to hunt down the rest of the photos I took at the 2011 Central Canadian Comic Con and stick them on here before I take any more. I am such a procrastinator, I doubt these pictures would ever get up if I don't do them now.
At the Con I was constantly running around and getting into lines for Q&As and autographs/pictures. One of the Q&As I managed to get into were for two of my favorite DS9 actors - Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) and Chase Masterson (Leeta):
Unlike the Shatner and Frakes Q&As, I was in the seventh row. I didn't mind being there at all, as it was still quite close to the front. The only problem was that it made taking pictures more difficult with the camera I had at the time - unfortunate, because they looked so incredbly beautiful.
Anybody could tell that Nana and Chase were friends - they seemed very close, joking with each other beforehand and during the session. They giggled when they saw cameras flash and posed for the rows of fans for about five minutes before they started. They were absolutely adorable, and two of the nicest people I had ever met.
The stories they told were amazing, and Chase actually got quite weepy while talking about her experience with a stalker and legal case - a fake matchmaking (extremely sexually inviting) profile was made with her real name, phone number, and address readily available. She was soon receiving threatening and perverted phone calls, and had to relocate with her son for several months. When she took legal action in 2003 against the hosting company, the hosting company won because it had not created the profile itself - thus being protected by the US Communications Decency Act. This obviously had a huge impact on her psychological well-being, but she seems to have (for the most part) moved passed it.
Did I mention the Joker was there? He just walked up behind them and crouched down to talk to them. He was actually working at the con, and did the introductions.
One of my favorite parts of Comic Con was seeing William Shatner again. I got in line right away, so I could get as close to the front as I could - fortunately, there was an empty seat in the first row. We had to sit the room for an hour before the show, so I conversed with some of the people I was sitting with. We talked about Star Trek and Doctor Who, and watched Night Court (with Brent Spiner as Bob Wheeler) on somebody's iPhone.
Finally, he came down the stairs and made his way to the stage:
This time he was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, as opposed to the suit he wore for "How Time Flies". He looked amazing, and hearing him answer questions was great. Fortunately, we were allowed to take video (which I did!). Unfortunately, the sound was terrible. So here are some quotes from the session:
"And if you can move one molecule, you can move... two. And you still have nothing..." (When talking about the transporter and how scientists are working on teleportation technology)
"I am involved in trying to invent shows... Um, one - I'll tell you about because I'm in the process of doing it right now. It will open with a monologue by someone, maybe me, like the Twilight Zone - where the guy says 'I think people are basically bad. They scheme, they plot... they conspire all the time. And here are some of the conspiracies.' And the hour will be a conspiracy that may or may not exist. Was there a JFK conspiracy? But this is from the point of view of the conspirator.
All I know is, that you hear about... as you get older your brain's more foggy (?), and sticky, and - and you lose... it doesn't have to happen. I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to happen if you just allow yourself to be creative in your own way.
I struggled for twenty years trying to come up with a couple thousand dollars in the bank, brought up three kids, it was tough. I got ahead, the last several years, I have a little money. And I got a little prestige.
But I'm doing it! It's the one percent! I've never been one of the one percent! I'm telling you, if you can ever get a limo to drive you to a private airport to get get on a private plane and go someplace... do it!
You know, I've grown as an actor, I'm growing all the time - I'm finally finding out how to do it... you know, it's such a shame.
He also speaks about how people get addicted, his site "MyOuterSpace", "Weird or What?" and horse competition he was in the day before. He also tells us that around the time when one of his children was born, he was watching the television and a March of Dimes commercial came on. He watched as the "tiny tim" polio poster child made his way across the screen, and this affected him greatly - he was lucky, his child was healthy. But sickness can happen so suddenly. He is now a spokesperson for March of Dimes.
One person said to Shatner - they heard that he does math problems in his head before a show. He got a big laugh out of that one, and told us that the only math problem he does is "I'm one... where's my other one?".
And remember the show "How William Shatner Changed the World"? He tells us about how Paramount would not let him use "How Star Trek Changed the World" or even "How Captain Kirk Changed the World".
Now, for the video! I will leave you with part one, and the links to the continuing videos. I hope you enjoy - and I do apologize for the sound quality. (Also you can hear me giggling throughout the entire thing.)
Part Two (on the brain, his horses, how his life has changed, and March of Dimes) Part Three (where he talks about "stupid Paramount") Part Four (on Weird or What, acting on stage, and doing math problems in his head) Part Five (where he explains his "singing" and his spiritual views) Part Six (where he talks about careers and such)
One of the special guests at the Central Canadian Comic Con (C4) was Jonathan Frakes, best known by Sci-Fi fans as Commander William T. Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I took a lot of pictures, but as there was no video allowed, I had to depend on my terrible note-taking skills for quotes. Here are some of my favorites:
He was legitimately singing opera here. Seriously. It was amazing.
"When I first started on 'Star Trek,' I went to a convention in a little town called Syracuse, New York and everyone was still indignant that our show had come on the air because they were very heavy into Kirk and Spock and they really didn't like the idea of a new 'Star Trek.' I was waiting in the dealers' room to go on stage and at a dealer's table they were selling those action figures of the thinner versions of all of us... with Geordi LaForge $35, Picard for $50, a limited Data for $50 and the sign at the end of the table said, "buy any action figure and get Riker for free."
"I was more interested in where do you go to the bathroom on the Enterprise? What do you EAT? And why no POCKETS in the space suits? Don't get me started on my space suit. And what about this... (does an exaggeration of Riker's walk). Why did he walk like that all the time?"
"Wheaton is walking next to me and says, "you know Frakes, I can tell by the clothes that you wear and the music that comes out of your dressing room that, you used to be cool. Little shit."
"In real life, I play the trombone but I don't play it well. And on the show when you hear somebody playing the trombone and it sounds sort of not so good it's me. When you hear the trombone and it sounds really good on the show, that's Bill "
"Picard. Come on. Pfft, Kirk or Picard. You saw 'Generations.' Two captains in search of one good hairpiece."
" I wish 'Gargoyles' was STILL on the air! The greatest job. First of all, you go to work in your pajamas. Secondly, they've always got bagels and cream cheese. Thirdly, you sit around in a circle with other funny actors. It was a great gig. Marina, Data, um, Kate, Keith David, it was a great group. And it was one of those jobs where they would gather us all, like when we do the 'Family Guy' stuff they'd find us and we'd just have to do our lines. But with 'Gargoyles' we'd actually get together in the room and do the show. I liked that gig. I want it BACK!"
"So Nana Visitor... she sends Thomas Riker to some Cardassian prison and leaves him there for years! For years I was in the prison! ...Still in that bloody prison! I'll speak to her about that this evening."
"That was a great space bird." (after standing on one leg, other leg stretched out behind him, flapping his arms for about five seconds)
It's a really bad quality pic, but "That was a great space bird".
"In my country, we have wireless mikes." (after trying not to trip on the cord, and yelling at a Klingon (in Klingon!) who was trying to untangle it.)
"I try to encourage actors to find any other career...It's a really GLAMOROUS profession and it ALWAYS works out! EVERYBODY gets rich and you stay young FOREVER!"
"(Talking about Twitter) Spiner's got a million and a half, LeVar's got a million and a half, I just, I just joined, feel free to sign up. Jonathan S. Frakes. Who is that pretty girl who called me Franks when I came up here?" (He was, in fact, introduced as Jonathon Franks.)
"I'm not much of a Sci-fi fan, oddly enough... But I am enjoying Person of Interest."
"But oddly enough when Star Trek started, I didn't really know that we were joining part of the popular culture and thought we'd be under a rock or something. I didn't understand the power of the original Star Trek and didn't understand the passion. And then Roddenberry, may he rest in peace, was so great. He believed so heavily in his optimistic view of the future. I auditioned for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' six times over several weeks, and each time as it got closer and closer to them finally making the decision I'd have to go into Gene Roddenberry's office and I'd sit there and he's sort of you know, he was like a coach. And he'd coach and say your audition is going to be great today, you're the guy I want to play Riker, and he said to me in the 24th century there will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all the children will know how to read."
"Deep Throat Nine" (As he called Deep Space Nine throughout the show)
"I started to look at the original show and at that time got the VCRs of the show and watched those. And my wife Jeannie Francis who is a big Kirk fan she had Kirk posters on her wall when she was a kid. And then I go home for Christmas after the first season to see my mom and dad in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and I went out to the refrigerator to get a beer and a refrigerator was on the back porch and I go to the refrigerator and on the door is a poster -- this big -- a picture of Patrick Stewart. 'Oh, I just love Patrick Stewart.' Mom??! I'm in THE SAME SHOW! The other half of that picture is ME! 'He's so beautiful. And that voice… numba one… to BE!' (Imitating Patrick Stewart). Humbling."
"The 'Nemesis' movie was, my thoughts on why it didn't do well, awkward, be very careful Jonathan you are using your outside voice… speak diplomatically. I think that the core audience of our movies, which was you guys, wanted to see the Star Trek family which is Patrick and Brent, etc., And that movie was sort of about Thomas Hardy's character. The guy who was by the way, not only Inception, he's like the hottest thing. He's like a huge movie star now. And it's fabulous. He got his start in that movie. So I always thought that that movie, in addition to not being directed by me, was problematic because it was about a character who none of us really knew. I'm not sure that's what the problem was. I also think that Paramount with their infinite wisdom was really, incredibly, greedy, in terms of we had our show on the air, that they put Deep Throat--'Deep Space Nine' on the air, no, they put 'Voyager'then 'Deep Space' then 'Enterprise' and then we did 'Generations' and 'First Contact' and 'Insurrection' and there was just too much Star Trek. And 'Nemesis' was the first star trek movie to lose money. We made nine movies that all made money and as you know that's what projects into the future, so when 'Nemesis' stopped to make money the franchise came to a screeching halt until J.J. rebooted it brilliantly a couple of years ago. What's your theory about why it was a stinker? Or was it a stinker? Some people liked it."
"I'm serious. It's all work with me… Except for this one time. Michael Dorn, dear sweet turtle head, is up on the, you know, back end of the bridge, and old baldy is sitting there and I'm over here and the beautiful and talented Marina is over here. And Dorn had in his hand, because for years he's wanted to do this -- raw egg. So he leans over the bridge, and SMASHES it on Patrick's head. Albumin everywhere. Yolk down that British face. That's a lie. That's a boldfaced lie. It never happened. It would've been great though, right?"
"You know how we use to get hit by phaser fire from enemy ships? And we'd all rock around and be thrown around the bridge, and Marina would be over in her seat, and when we got hit her hair would lay back and she'd look over and her breasts would be full, and I'd be over here rocking and throwing my self around like Riker, and Patrick would be sitting over in his captain's chair, the ergonomically built for his back captain's chair, which was stolen by a fan at one point… And he would all be, very stoic. And under his breath, I heard this many times (imitating Patrick Stewart), "Oh Jonathan… Jonathan… 25 years in the Royal Shakespeare Company… FOR THIS??"
Just as I suspected (and was told by other Star Trek cast members), Jonathan Frakes is a very funny man and a great performer. At one point, a couple of people were attempting to take video of him talking. He walked to the front of the stage, leaned down, and yelled - "NO VIDDEEOOO!" It must have been a personal request, because video was permitted for every other guest.
I went and got a picture with him after the Q&A, which was very rushed and taken professionally. I looked up at him and said, "I love you". He hesitated for a moment before saying "and I you". I felt like a really big creep, but I don't really care. It was great seeing him, and he is just as handsome as ever. I just wish I could have been less awkward is his presence.
A couple of days ago I had the privilege of seeing William Shatner's show, "How Time Flies", from the ninth row. As soon as he walked out onto the stage, I swear my heart stopped. I could feel it. The show lasted about three hours, and was absolutely amazing.
Before the show, I stopped of at the merchandise table to get a T-shirt. I did not expect for there to be a triple vinyl version of Seeking Major Tom, and a limited edition poster (which I quickly bought!). There were also copies of his book, "Shatner Rules", and his CD - but I had already gotten those days before.
Waiting non-patiently for the show to resume
A lot of what he told us is also explained in his book. I sat there, watching him speak with my SLR camera and a piece of random receipt paper - upon which I was writing notes. I took pictures, when I could, and wrote down my favorite parts.
He spoke about a six year old boy who showed up outside while he was living on the road in a truck. "One morning, a six-year-old boy knocks on the door, and says, 'Are you Captain Kirk?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Can I see your space ship?' I said, 'Sure come in." He brought the boy inside, and showed him the shower, "where I beam up" and the stove, where the controls were. He says that somewhere, there is a middle aged guy who believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was on the Enterprise with Captain Kirk.
Looking sharp in a pinstripe suit
After taking off his jacket to show us how to fold it properly
He also spoke a lot about horses, a special passion of his. He spoke about Great Dane, his black stallion, and how he lived and died. He had agreed to breed him, but was saddened by it when he found that he had been "incarcerated". Great Dane later got founder, and had to be put down. He later spoke of Great Dane's son, "Call Me Ringo".
He recalled riding a three year old horse as an amateur rider, and having it rear. He accidentally leaned back and brought the horse back with him, and quickly thought of the stories where people had been crushed by their horses. Luckily, the horse went to the side at the last minute, and only landed on his leg.
Heavenly suspenders
Showing off is what the Shat does best
He broke his leg, and an ambulance was called. "Every Rescue 911 I did, they tied the gurney down!" In the hospital, to check if he had inner bleeding, he had to pee in a bottle. "Captain Kirk is peeing in a bottle." A nurse comes and opens the curtains, looks at him, and says (gasp) "I'm your biggest fan!".
And here's a few more interesting little bits of information:
The tour bus was rented from a company called Star Fleet.
William Shatner sold his Kidney Stone for $100,000.00 to donate to Habitat for Humanity
He states that he got his stereotyped acting style on Broadway when he had to start speaking gibberish and yelling to stop people from leaving the audience when his fellow actor kept freezing up in an attempt to get fired.
At an important show with agents and everything, he replaced a piece of paper that is fellow actor was to rip in half powerfully and angrily with a piece of parchment paper. Parchment paper doesn't rip.
He was an assistant manager twice, hired because he had a degree (which he just barely got). He was promptly fired both times, and has never had a job other than acting since then.
According to William Shatner, the four sweetest words in the English language are "Say goodbye to Grandpa"
Koko the Gorilla grabbed him by the balls.
Signing to Koko... "I love you"
And then Koko reached down and grabbed him by the balls.
At one point he quotes a philosopher by saying "nothing is everything"... and follows up by yelling "what the fuck does he mean by that!?" He also uses the word onomatopoeia.
I could go on, but you would be reading for hours, and I would be typing for days. I would highly recommend purchasing the book "Shatner Rules" for more.
As an epic conclusion to the show, William Shatner asked us (rhetorically, I would imagine) what Canadians loved most. After people from the crowd shouted "Beer!" he corrected us - we all love hockey. With this, he sang his rendition of "The Good Ol'Hockey Game" by Stompin' Tom Connors, which I recorded on a terrible camera like I was drunk. See the video and all of it's terrible quality below. And remember - "We don't know anything. We know nothing. We see glimmers."
