It’s that time of year when all the most dedicated Star Trek fans descend upon Las Vegas for the annual Star Trek Convention. The convention will run from August 2nd-6th at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino.
Among the guests will be original series alums William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig. The entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager will be on hand. Nana Visitor (Major Kira), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Rene Auberjonois (Security Chief Odo), Nicole de Boer (Erzri Dax) and Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) will represent the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series. There will also be a few actors from Star Trek: Enterprise including Linda Park (Hoshi Sato), Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Maxwell Forrest) and Jeffery Combs (Commander Shran). Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell) and Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Connor) from Star Trek: Discovery will all be making their first appearance at this convention. Karl Urban, Doctor McCoy in the new movies, will also be there to sign autographs and take pictures.
The entire Star Trek 2017 Convention scheduled can be found here, but there are some panels worth highlighting.
Wednesday, August 2nd
- Remembering Leonard – Special STLV Convention Premiere – 11:30am – 12:30pm
- There will be a showing of the documentary Remembering Leonard Nimoy which takes “an intimate journey into Leonard Nimoy’s personal life.” The documentary will go through his life starting from his childhood in Boston to his arrival in Hollywood.
- Introducing Star Trek: Discovery – 3:30pm-4:30pm
- There are a few Star Trek: Discovery panels on Wednesday, but this one will introduce the audience to a few of the cast members.
Thursday, August 3rd
- Perfect World Panel “Expanding Star Trek’s Story with Star Trek Online” – 9:45am-10:30am
- Developers of the Star Trek Online MMORPG will discuss the future of the future of the game. There will also be a special announcement.
- Starships: The designing process from the original Matt Jefferies Enterprise all the way to the current ships – 12:00pm-12:45pm
- Presenter John Eaves will take a look back at 50 years of starship design. The presentation will go from concept drawings to the creation of physical and CGI models. For those who love the Star Trek universe starships, this is the panel to see.
Friday, August 4th
- OKUDAGRAMS: The Development of the LCARS & Next Generation Graphic Design – 10:15am-11:00am
- Long-time Art Department members Mike Okuda and Denise Okuda will have a discussion with the audience about graphic design and bringing the Star Trek universe to life. They will talk about the iconic LCARS design and creating futuristic technology.
- Women in Star Trek: The Generation: A special panel event – 10:45am-11:30am
- Panelists Jarrah Hodge (Women at Warp: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast), Dr. Kayla Iacovino (TrekMovie.com and Shuttle Pod Podcast), Lucia Lorenzi (literary scholar and cultural critic), and Aliza Pearl (The Listener: Spectral Awakening) will join Gates McFadden for a discussion about women’s roles in the series.
- The Official 30th Anniversary Reunion of Star Trek: The Next Generation – 6:00pm-8:00pm
- The entire cast of Star Trek: TNG will be reuniting to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the show. The event will be hosted by Terry Farrell.
Saturday, August 5th
- A Science Trek: The Search for Class M Planets – 10:45am-11:30am
- Caltech scientists Jessie Christensen, Philip Hopkins, and Robert Hurt will talk about the real science behind the search for habitable planets.
- Inner Light Panel with Sir Patrick Stewart, Margot Rose & Morgan Gendel – 4:30pm-5:30pm
- If you remember the episode where Captain Picard lives out the life of an alien from a dead planet and plays the flute, then you know that it was one of the best episodes of The Next Generation. This panel will bring together some of the cast members, including Patrick Stewart, to discuss it.
Sunday, August 6th
- What We Left Behind Panel & Exclusive Sneak Preview – 12:15pm-1:15pm
- Ira Steven Behr (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showrunner), documentary producer David Zappone, editors and producers Joseph Kornbrodt and Luke Snailham, producer Kai de Mello and director Adam Nimoy will discuss the upcoming Star Trek Deep Space Nine documentary and show a sneak preview.
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