Herald-Sun

A long, strange ‘Trek’ it’s been By J. CAMERON TEW : The Herald-Sun

jct@herald-sun.com

Jun 9, 2001 : 11:07 pm ET

DURHAM -- Conventions -- the final frontier. These are the stories of Trekkies.

Their year-round mission: to explore all things Enterprise, DS9 and Voyager. To seek out new lore and old Trek stars. To boldly go where thousands of Trekkies have gone before.

"Live long and prosper," the Vulcan adage goes, and that’s just what "Star Trek" has done for 35 years.

And with hundreds of Trekkies -- aka "Star Trek" fans -- milling about the ballroom in the downtown Durham Civic Center, it appears that Trek won’t head off to Stovelkor (loose translation: Klingon final resting place for honored dead) any time soon.

Only a few weeks removed from the "Voyager" series finale, many Trek fans wanted to talk about the impending Trek film (the 10th) and the latest TV show ("Enterprise") set for this fall.

For them, the franchise that began with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock has maintained freshness and creativity, and attending conventions allows them to bond more closely with the shows and their characters.

"They want to be there and see it live. It’s that next level of involvement," said Rich Arnold, the host of the convention run by Creation Entertainment that continues today from noon to 6 p.m.

Creator Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991, would be pleased with the staying power of the concept, said Arnold, as folks walked by checking out vendors’ T-shirts, posters and other merchandise.

"He was always surprised and flattered by it," Arnold said. "He was ‘Star Trek.’"

While some Trek actors -- role characters such as Yeoman Martha Landon and Marlena Moreau -- were on hand to sign autographs for $10 to $20 each, many people went downtown hoping to meet "Star Trek: The Next Generation" alumni Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi) and Michael Dorn (Lt. Commander Worf). Before their appearance, Manu Intiraymi (Icheb on "Voyager") chatted with the audience.

His character (a Borg returned to his humanlike form) appeared regularly during the last two seasons, but he was never sure how much longer it would last.

"Every time I got an episode, I would flip to the back to see if I was dead or off the ship," he said.

He spent much of that time in scenes with another former Borg -- Jerri Ryan’s Seven of Nine.

"People always ask me what it was like to work with Jerri," the 23-year-old Intiraymi said of the actress considered by many to be a sex symbol. "I’m supposed to play this 17-year-old and meanwhile I’m just going crazy over Jerri.

"It was a great two years. ... And as much as people were saying it was great and they wanted to move on, it’s sad when a show ends. I was sad not to work with these great actors anymore. I cried."

Fans like Karl Nordman (dressed as Lt. Commander Data) and Milton Bridges found the chance to talk with the shows’ stars exhilarating.

"The shows have come a long way," Bridges said. "At first, I just thought ‘Star Trek’ was another sci-fi show, but it is much more than that."

Issues the show treated, such as civil rights and war, made it a social barometer.

"It tackled civil rights before the issue was addressed in America," Arnold said. "It was very cutting-edge. It was made during the Vietnam War and when there was a fascination with nuclear weapons. ... People just wanted to know that we survived, and we survived with dignity."

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Answers

Gee, looks like it was a fun weekend. Sorry I missed it. Old Git, did you and Sweetie go? If so, how did you dress up for it. I won't tell.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Riddle for Trekkies: What plugged up the toilet on the Starship Enterprise?

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Peter, I don't recall it being a "toilet", but the answer would be "tribbles". They pretty much plugged up everything, at least at the space station.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Nah, we were at home most of the weekend, hiding from AC behind closed blinds and trying to remain relatively calm. Gawd, I can't believe this--The Hungarian said they're worse than the communists.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Brooks, I'm afraid your answer is wrong. The correct answer is "the Captain's log."

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

[[[[GROAN]]]]

Git, tell the AC that Peter has a rabid cat at his house!

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Took the Trekkie kid to a Trek fest once. Met Marina Sirtis, very nice lady. Also met many grown men in nylon jumpsuits pretending to be members of shuttle commands and what not. Decided then and there to withdraw child into the fascinating world of Barbie. Never regretted it.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Took the Trekkie kid to a Trek fest once. Met Marina Sirtis, very nice lady. Also met many grown men in nylon jumpsuits pretending to be members of shuttle commands and what not. Decided then and there to withdraw child into the fascinating world of Barbie. Never regretted it. -- helen

Yeah, but how did he feel about it?

ROTFL

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

Barefoot, ever see some the wilder Barbie stuff? Even life size inflatables. Enough to make the toughest he-kid on the block swoon.

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

He needed someone for GI Joe to rescue and train for undercover operative assignments. >;)

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

Helen, I probably am confused about what you are telling us, but did you just say that you were encouraging him to put GI Joe and Barbie under the covers to do secret things? If so, that sure seems to beat the school programs aimed at further education in this area.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

What child ever needed encouragement to put Barbie and Ken in compromising positions? I remember in 1965, the friend who had the Barbie baby sitting set (which came with a baby) had the baby be the child of Barbie and Ken, who had gone "out in the weeds." We stuffed kleenex up Barbie's dress for pregnancy.

I was worried that my daughter was getting too normal, but then I heard her say "the lion has given poisoned Coca-cola to the Barbie," and immediately felt better.

I never went for guys who had just bumps like Ken. 'Taint right.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

Gordon, with my kids there's only a futile attempt at restraint. I never have to encourage them to DO anything, only STOP.

Thread drift: We got the Sims game a while back. We let all the kids play it as long as each was old enough to to it without asking me for help. Sims can have romantic relationships with each other regardless of marital status or gender. They do not have to be monogamous.

In the original game, same-sex romatically involved couples would get a phone call from a social services agency asking if they wanted to adopt a baby. You got to choose. Hetero couples, after extended kissing sessions, asked each other if they should have a baby, and you got to choose.

I was uncomfortable about the homosexual relationships, let me be unpolitically frank. I let the kids play anyway and watched them. They grew tired of homosexual relationships as quickly as they grew tired of making babies. Sim babies are LOT of work before they become children, and children are work, responsibility, and they don't contribute monetarily to the household. Sim children also can't do some of the fun Sim activities reserved for Sim adults.

The kids wanted an extension pack called "Livin Large". I wanted more wallpaper, they wanted the clown. None of us knew about the vibrating bed option until we started playing with it. You can put two adult Sims of any gender into the vibrating bed with the option of "Play in Bed". They get naked, disappear under the sheets, and bark among other interesting noises. Female Sims are able to repeat the experience right away while male Sims are not. >:)

I was VERY uncomfortable about this game option. Then I noticed something interesting. Sims playing in bed may suddenly have a baby pop into the room. Remember, the arrival of a baby in a Sim game used to be up to the gamer. Now if you use the bed, you don't get a choice. Babies aren't fun anyway, and now they aren't optional.

My own hetero Sim couple was playing in bed when a baby arrived. It was their first child, so it wasn't a terrible thing. Out of curiosity, I put the couple back into bed to see what would happen. They had a second baby immediately. This was a grave error. One baby is difficult, two babies were nearly impossible. And for some reason, the "go faster" option disappeared. My Sims had to take care of these babies in REAL time.

My kids were fascinated by this development. Then they grew horrified when they saw what it was taking to keep them going in REAL time. They advised me to put the babies out by the curb for social services to pick them up (a game option, by the way). They advised me to put at least one of them out there. Somehow we managed to keep both babies alive long enough to become children. My kids had to help me in shifts because none of us had the stamina to play that long.

Out of curiosity, I put the couple back into bed. It just couldn't happen again that soon, right? After playing in bed, the female Sim got out of bed and began retching on the floor. My youngest gamer, not the youngest child but the youngest to handle the game, said gravely, "Now you're in trouble. Even if you get rid of this bed right away, you'll still have a baby even if you're only just kissing. She's pregnant. You're gonna have another baby and you just got the twins old enough to go to school." There was condemnation in this flat little voice.

This kid had already been through an unwanted Sim pregnancy and had a negative attitude about irresponsible reproduction. I was gravely advised to "get rid of the vibrating bed and don't let them kiss ever again."

My kids are still allowed to play the game. They just may be learning something.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

To continue the thread drift...I never heard of the Sims game. Is this a board game or a computer game or?

sounds like you are still playing it? Is this like a never-ending thing, or can you just shut it down and start over?

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

You can find this game by doing a search on "The Sims". It's a game put out by Maxis, I think. They are the same outfit that gave us SimCity, SimFarm, etc. You can change nearly anything you want in this game. It's a game about relationships and self-improvement. You can build the people, their houses, their relationships, nearly anything you want to fool with can be changed. You can delete your people and bulldoze your houses if they bore you. Your people can live without your intervention if necessary, but they will yell at you if they don't like something.

The user community has several web pages of new objects and people shapes that you can download. I'm not into the game enough to download anything, but there is alot of material out there for free once you purchase the game(s). I almost never play with Sims any more, because I got the idea of doing the improvements in real life and no longer have the time. :)

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

Helen, thanks for the long comments on the Sim game. I have watched it being played for hours by the kids and it does seem to offer some real life lessons. I really like that example of sex/responsibility you mentioned. If a game can teach that sort of understanding it's worth it. Prior to these "simulator" games we had to learn our lessons the hard way and it hurt both adults and kids sometimes.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

Gordon, we've forbidden the kids to mention playing this game to anyone. I'm afraid their comments might be misinterpreted and we'll go to jail. This is the first time I've "come out". :)

We're not just being paranoid. The school once went ballistic about our child talking about pornography in our home. That child was actually describing a picture of a statue of Venus with bare breasts. The picture was in an art book checked out of the school's own library.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001