Creation's Boston Convention: Day Two Recap

Fans assembled en masse for day two of Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, only to be greeted by a blackout that struck half of Boston that morning. Power was restored by about 10 a.m. and attendees were then ushered into the facility in an orderly manner. The Creation team seemed to function with grace under pressure and in no time at all the event was back on track.The theater (the huge Veterans Auditorium) program commenced with an energetic opening from Creation co- CEO Adam Malin, who wasted no time chatting with the audience about the latest trends in sci-fi TV and film,  as well as raving about the new Trek film (consensus is unanimous, it's a great film).Then he brought out the first guests of the day, Deep Space Nine's star-crossed lovers Odo and Kira, Rene Auberjonois and Nana Visitor. Rene look trim and handsome, Nana lithe and beautiful. They celebrated the love affair of Odo and Kira (Nana noted that it must be a pure love when a woman loves a man in a bucket). Rene admitted it was a bit awkward kissing Nana because they were such good friends, especially with both of them wearing various degrees of latex prosthetics! Rene confessed the makeup process was an anxiety-causing procedure. The prosthetic didn't have any nostrils originally (and it was suffocating and terrifying to wear), so the solution was to cut a small incision in the mask under the nose. Between shoots Rene would use his wedding ring to prop up the prosthetic, and then when it was time to shoot he would remove the ring and the mask would look seamless.

The next guests were the team of LeVar Burton and Marina Sirtis, on hand to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Next Generation. Both looked fit and happy. They admitted to having some problems with the new J.J. Abrams film. LeVar discussed his current recurring role on Perception, a cable show. Both of them have been involved in voiceover work and enjoy it. Marina is happy to now have a recurring role on NCIS as chief of the Israeli Mossad. She has an aversion as well to prosthetics, which have damaged her face and skin and left scars. She also claims the male members of the cast remember episodes based on the female special guest actresses. For example, Marina said, they guys all drooled over Famke Janssen. Marina also revealed she auditioned three times for Tasha and three time for Troi. Understanding the kind of character Troi would be, Marina had to eliminate her own personality from the character because they are so different. LeVar revealed the continuing digital rollout of Reading Rainbow, now on tablets, smart phones, book readers and computers.

Next up, Adam Malin delivered a brief but enjoyable segment in which he reminisced about beloved Trek fixtures of the TOS era: Gene and Majel Roddenberry, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. He recalled the 25th anniversary of TOS presented by Creation Entertainment at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1991, an event complete with bomb threats against Gene and Bill Shatner. Despite the drama, the event went off beautifully. At one point Shatner outstayed his welcome on stage as the rest of the TOS looked on from the rafters. Seizing the moment, De Kelley ran on stage with a giant hook to pull Shatner off!The next segment on stage was part two of Richard Arnold's salute to the 20th anniversary of DS9. This wonderful behind-the-scenes slideshow featured rare production stills on the making of the series. Following that was the last No Minimum Bid Auction of the weekend, which featured more rare collectibles, banners and other paraphernalia for Trek and sci-fi fans.And then it was time for the amazing William Shatner, Capt. James T. Kirk himself. Shatner, looking healthy and relaxed and amazingly youthful, launched into a tirade about the trials of breeding his Doberman pinschers. He faced tornadoes, cross country travel, giant dog poops and cryogenically preserved dog semen in his quest to continue his dog's lineage. When asked the next move to Spock's challenge in Classic Trek's legendary 3D chess, he said he couldn't remember and didn't care! On acting: he loves performing. He had especially loving remarks for his lifetime friend Leonard Nimoy, a Bostonian.

The next featured guest was Denise Crosby, TNG's Tasha Yar. She is proud to have been Grand Marshal of the Boston Pride Parade. She also was pleased to portray the Head of Security during the first season, but felt the character didn't grow and the writers weren't really advancing he character. Denise especially enjoyed playing Sela and being involved in the "Yesterday's Enterprise" story line. And she has had paranormal experiences in her own home, like lights spontaneously coming on or turning off.The final celebrity of the weekend was the First Lady of the galaxy, Nichelle Nichols, looking lovely and receiving a standing ovation. Host Adam Malin provided a thoughtful interview/dialogue with Nichelle, and they touched on her illustrious career on stage, TV and screen, as well as her advocacy for the NASA Space Program. Nichelle helped to draft astronaut Sally Ride. She is always a class act.

And as quickly as it started, the weekend was over and Creation bade a fond farewell to the warm and enthusiastic audience. Boston truly had gone where no one had gone before.Click HERE to read our recap of Day One’s events.