Walter Koenig on Shat's Raw Nerve

[Therin of Andor]

We had Ernie Over, Gene Roddenberry's personal assistant and chauffeur at the time, visit us in Sydney during his first Australian holiday, and he brought with him an unseen episode of TNG and did a talk about working at Paramount. One gangly, pimply young ST fan asked him, "What about the bridge?" We couldn't get any elaboration whatsoever, and the fan seemed a quite upset that Ernie couldn't answer his question.

At the tenth anniversary of a series of Australian conventions, John "Q" deLancie was a guest of honor and, towards the end of his chat session, a woman asked him, "How come you're making sense?" The room went eerily quiet. Mr deLancie sought clarification and she said, "Well, we've have lots of American actors here over the years but you're the only American I've heard who actually sounds intelligent." She managed to insult all the other guests of honor at the convention and ten years of previous guests in her attempt to compliment John deLancie.

 

[Forbin]

May favorite audience question was the lady at the 1976 NY con who asked Mark Lenard, "How's Mrs. Sarek?" There was a pause as he collected himself, and he graciously replied, She's fine, madam, thank you for asking."

My fave type of con attendee (not) is the guy in the huckster's room browsing the tables while wearing a giant backpack fit for a week in the wilderness, who doesn't realize that he's bashing peoples' brains out every time he turns around. And he usually smells like he's spent a week in the wilderness too!

 

[Therin of Andor]

the guy in the huckster's room browsing the tables while wearing a giant backpack fit for a week in the wilderness, who doesn't realize that he's bashing peoples' brains out every time he turns around. And he usually smells like he's spent a week in the wilderness too!

Mmmm, he's been to many Australian cons, too.

 

[Char Aznable]

My second or third time at a convention I was wearing a TNG uniform (captain pips of course). I was in the dealers room waiting for my Mom to get out of the bathroom (I was around 9-10 at the time) when all of a sudden I was thrown up on. A coat of puke all over the back of my uniform. The douchbag didn't even apologize.

 

[Brian]

Sorry, I've been going to conventions since 1985, and the stereotypical people do exist, otherwise the stereotype would never have formed. I see people who seemingly never wash their hair, rarely bathe, and wear the same glasses and clothes year after year. They think the actors should have the same obsessive passion for the material that they do, and are befuddled when they act like it was just a job, which it was for most of them. And some of them think it's all about them for some odd reason, and expect the celebs to remember bumping into them 10 years ago, out of the thousands of other fans they bump into every year.

Here's an example of one particularly self-centered fan...

Remember the comic "Leonard Nimoy's Primortals"? It was from the now-defunct Tekno Comix, who had a shop here in Orlando.

At one convention, this guy got up and asked Leonard Nimoy: "Can you tell me why Tekno Comix would place an ad in the paper for employment, then when you get there they won't even talk to you, and... " (drowned out by boos from the audience)

Leonard: "What? Where? Who?"

Guy: "On I-Drive, the Tekno Comix store..." (more boos) (And as if any non-Orlandoan would know what "I-Drive" is. Even if he'd said "International Drive" Leonard wouldn't have had a clue what he was talking about.)

Leonard: "Oh yes, I had a comic once, called Primortals..."

As if Leonard Nimoy, by having his name on a comic under the Tekno Comix label, would have any say whether a local shop would hire some random comic book geek.

 

[Merky]

There's definitely a self entitlement that a lot of fans have, which brings me back to the infamous business card man and Shatner at Megacon. I don't know why, maybe because fans look at it as " We support your career by buying your products "... I guess it's a double edge sword because Marina Stiris at the TNG panel said, " You guys have the power. It's not us, the actors, its you who watch the shows "

In one way it's a nice compliment, in another way it's going to blow up in their faces cause fans will run with that.

 

[T'Bonz]

I was at that convention. Poor Nimoy. He had NO clue as to what the fan was saying and neither did the rest of us. We were mortified by the fan and I remember thinking, "Hope Nimoy doesn't think we're ALL nutjobs!"

Here's an example of one particularly self-centered fan...

Remember the comic "Leonard Nimoy's Primortals"? It was from the now-defunct Tekno Comix, who had a shop here in Orlando.

At one convention, this guy got up and asked Leonard Nimoy: "Can you tell me why Tekno Comix would place an ad in the paper for employment, then when you get there they won't even talk to you, and... " (drowned out by boos from the audience)

Leonard: "What? Where? Who?"

Guy: "On I-Drive, the Tekno Comix store..." (more boos) (And as if any non-Orlandoan would know what "I-Drive" is. Even if he'd said "International Drive" Leonard wouldn't have had a clue what he was talking about.)

Leonard: "Oh yes, I had a comic once, called Primortals..."

As if Leonard Nimoy, by having his name on a comic under the Tekno Comix label, would have any say whether a local shop would hire some random comic book geek.

 

[siskokid888]

Many of them are also married and not virgins, as well.

At least not after I left. Heyooo!

 

[number6]

It's interesting to see how time and nostalgia has changed the realities of how we remember the TOS..

Now apparently we are to believe from reading these posts:

TOS was an ensemble show.

Stars, producers and writers of the show were all ethics bound.

Convention go-ers were clean cut well washed well mannered skinny people with active sex lives, awesome spouses, living in their own place.

Shatner was a bastard who quashed the careers of the day players while he fed on their bones and stole their lines.

Star Trek was a purely noble creative vision not created for profit or gain.

Nichelle Nichols couldn't speak out about her character because she was black and wouldn't be able to get another job.

Whatever you guys are smoking.. I don't want any.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

LOL That pretty much sums up some of the arguments in this thread.

 

[ClayinCA]

My fave type of con attendee (not) is the guy in the huckster's room browsing the tables while wearing a giant backpack fit for a week in the wilderness, who doesn't realize that he's bashing peoples' brains out every time he turns around. And he usually smells like he's spent a week in the wilderness too!

Mmmm, he's been to many Australian cons, too.

Huh. And I've seen that same guy at conventions in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, California and Las Vegas! He sure does get around....

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Except in the case of the conventions I go to (Ad Astra, Anime North, and Polaris [formerly Toronto Trek]) NOBODY's been like that for a LONG, LONG, TIME-especially Ad Astra and Polaris. As I said before, most of the people I'm acquainted with carry themselves well, act and dress properly, are quite adult in mannerisms and behavior, and bathe frequently during the convention.

Possibilities:

* Over the years you've formed your own clique of like-minded fans - and you just don't see the other cliques around you? You, yourself, say "most of the people". (In that Shatner skit, they don't show that just beyond the actors playing nerdy fans, out of camera range, there would be the other 90% of embarrassed convention-goers wishing the nerdy fans would just sit down and stop hogging the front rows.)

* Those conventions you list were so cruel to the geekier fans in the past they stopped feeling like they were welcome?

Now we are waiting for someone to wander in and say they know there are weird fans that do go to Ad Astra, Anime North and Polaris. It's sure to happen.

As I said before, in any crowd of any 200 people in a conference venue - for any event - at least 20 can be relied upon to act like jerks at some point over a three day weekend. Whether it be a loud disagreement with the hotel personnel, wearing inappropriate attire in a public space, drinking to much, lacking social graces or proper hygiene, pushing to the front of the lines, or making strange comments to a celebrity guest.

One year we got Francis Ford Coppola (he was promoting "Dracula", so his appearance was paid for by the studio), and we had some of the greatest questions from the audience, about filmmaking, his previous films, etc., until one girl got up and asked him, and I quote, "Do you think vampires are real?"

It was like someone took a shotgun to the Goodyear blimp, the air left the rooms so fast.

Thankfully, the intelligent questions picked back up and it ended on a high note, but those are the sort of moments that make you just wanna walk up to the questioner and whack 'em upside their head with a wiffle bat.

We had Ernie Over, Gene Roddenberry's personal assistant and chauffeur at the time, visit us in Sydney during his first Australian holiday, and he brought with him an unseen episode of TNG and did a talk about working at Paramount. One gangly, pimply young ST fan asked him, "What about the bridge?" We couldn't get any elaboration whatsoever, and the fan seemed a quite upset that Ernie couldn't answer his question.

At the tenth anniversary of a series of Australian conventions, John "Q" deLancie was a guest of honor and, towards the end of his chat session, a woman asked him, "How come you're making sense?" The room went eerily quiet. Mr deLancie sought clarification and she said, "Well, we've have lots of American actors here over the years but you're the only American I've heard who actually sounds intelligent." She managed to insult all the other guests of honor at the convention and ten years of previous guests in her attempt to compliment John deLancie.

May favorite audience question was the lady at the 1976 NY con who asked Mark Lenard, "How's Mrs. Sarek?" There was a pause as he collected himself, and he graciously replied, She's fine, madam, thank you for asking."

My fave type of con attendee (not) is the guy in the huckster's room browsing the tables while wearing a giant backpack fit for a week in the wilderness, who doesn't realize that he's bashing peoples' brains out every time he turns around. And he usually smells like he's spent a week in the wilderness too!

the guy in the huckster's room browsing the tables while wearing a giant backpack fit for a week in the wilderness, who doesn't realize that he's bashing peoples' brains out every time he turns around. And he usually smells like he's spent a week in the wilderness too!

Mmmm, he's been to many Australian cons, too.

Sorry, I've been going to conventions since 1985, and the stereotypical people do exist, otherwise the stereotype would never have formed. I see people who seemingly never wash their hair, rarely bathe, and wear the same glasses and clothes year after year. They think the actors should have the same obsessive passion for the material that they do, and are befuddled when they act like it was just a job, which it was for most of them. And some of them think it's all about them for some odd reason, and expect the celebs to remember bumping into them 10 years ago, out of the thousands of other fans they bump into every year.

Here's an example of one particularly self-centered fan...

Remember the comic "Leonard Nimoy's Primortals"? It was from the now-defunct Tekno Comix, who had a shop here in Orlando.

At one convention, this guy got up and asked Leonard Nimoy: "Can you tell me why Tekno Comix would place an ad in the paper for employment, then when you get there they won't even talk to you, and... " (drowned out by boos from the audience)

Leonard: "What? Where? Who?"

Guy: "On I-Drive, the Tekno Comix store..." (more boos) (And as if any non-Orlandoan would know what "I-Drive" is. Even if he'd said "International Drive" Leonard wouldn't have had a clue what he was talking about.)

Leonard: "Oh yes, I had a comic once, called Primortals..."

As if Leonard Nimoy, by having his name on a comic under the Tekno Comix label, would have any say whether a local shop would hire some random comic book geek.

There's definitely a self entitlement that a lot of fans have, which brings me back to the infamous business card man and Shatner at Megacon. I don't know why, maybe because fans look at it as " We support your career by buying your products "... I guess it's a double edge sword because Marina Stiris at the TNG panel said, " You guys have the power. It's not us, the actors, its you who watch the shows "

In one way it's a nice compliment, in another way it's going to blow up in their faces cause fans will run with that.

I was at that convention. Poor Nimoy. He had NO clue as to what the fan was saying and neither did the rest of us. We were mortified by the fan and I remember thinking, "Hope Nimoy doesn't think we're ALL nutjobs!"

Here's an example of one particularly self-centered fan...

Remember the comic "Leonard Nimoy's Primortals"? It was from the now-defunct Tekno Comix, who had a shop here in Orlando.

At one convention, this guy got up and asked Leonard Nimoy: "Can you tell me why Tekno Comix would place an ad in the paper for employment, then when you get there they won't even talk to you, and... " (drowned out by boos from the audience)

Leonard: "What? Where? Who?"

Guy: "On I-Drive, the Tekno Comix store..." (more boos) (And as if any non-Orlandoan would know what "I-Drive" is. Even if he'd said "International Drive" Leonard wouldn't have had a clue what he was talking about.)

Leonard: "Oh yes, I had a comic once, called Primortals..."

As if Leonard Nimoy, by having his name on a comic under the Tekno Comix label, would have any say whether a local shop would hire some random comic book geek.

Many of them are also married and not virgins, as well.

At least not after I left. Heyooo!

Hey (and I should have had this statement boldfaced, underlined, and italicized, so I will now) these were my memories of what happened. I know that they most likely don't jibe with all of yours, but this was how I experienced going to conventions in Toronto for the period specified by me. Maybe there were people like that at the cons, but I didn't concentrate on them or give a care about them, and they weren't the people I've been acquainted with (in point of fact, a lady who was a member of concom for a while at Polaris was interviewed by local radio and had set the record straight about what really happens at Polaris [this was after Galaxy Quest had been released.]) It sounds like I'm being naive, but I'm not. I understand that what happened to you all happened to you all, but my memories are my memories and I know what happened when I went to conventions in years past.
​

 

[CaptainStoner]

I haven't been to a convention, but if I did, I'd burn one with this guy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b4Dg-kglUT8D5bThDZnb-A

 

[Merky]

Needs a " If you havin' hull problems, I feel bad for you, son " caption.

Hey (and I should have had this statement boldfaced, underlined, and italicized, so I will now) these were my memories of what happened. I know that they most likely don't jibe with all of yours, but this was how I experienced going to conventions in Toronto for the period specified by me. Maybe there were people like that at the cons, but I didn't concentrate on them or give a care about them, and they weren't the people I've been acquainted with (in point of fact, a lady who was a member of concom for a while at Polaris was interviewed by local radio and had set the record straight about what really happens at Polaris [this was after Galaxy Quest had been released.]) It sounds like I'm being naive, but I'm not. I understand that what happened to you all happened to you all, but my memories are my memories and I know what happened when I went to conventions in years past.

Yeah, and we understand that. What I was trying to say is that the standard is there despite the fact that you and your friends aren't the social outcast nerds that is portrayed in the media. Your 1% doesn't speak for the other 99% around the world (figuratively speaking) so there's nothing insulting about that Shatner SNL skit nor should anyone feel personally offended by such a skit.

Cheerleaders get handed the idiot ball all the time in media, but I'm sure there's smart cheerleaders. Same with a lot of athletes, but many professional athletes become successful businessmen. Brunettes are apparently smarter than Blondes, but obviously that isn't true. etc etc etc

 

[AJBryant]

Your 1% doesn't speak for the other 99% around the world (figuratively speaking) so there's nothing insulting about that Shatner SNL skit nor should anyone feel personally offended by such a skit.

I'm reminded of the old lawyer joke (TOLD by a lawyer):

"The crappy 98% of lawyers out there are making life hell for the 2% that are nice."

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Your 1% doesn't speak for the other 99% around the world (figuratively speaking) so there's nothing insulting about that Shatner SNL skit nor should anyone feel personally offended by such a skit.

I'm reminded of the old lawyer joke (TOLD by a lawyer):

"The crappy 98% of lawyers out there are making life hell for the 2% that are nice."

That doesn't give the media the right to paint all lawyers as crappy, just as it doesn't give the media the right to assume that all crooks are people of color, or any other nasty stereotype of peoples or races.

 

[Captain Robert April]

The right? No, but it does give them the evidence to run with.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Maybe there were people like that at the cons, but I didn't concentrate on them or give a care about them...

And we said as much ourselves. You were the one accusing the skit as being "Bullshit".

 

[AxelFoley]

I know he mentioned he was bald in an interview, but I didn't know his hair had turned all grey as well, what's left of it. I'm seeing him at a convention this summer, I wonder if he'll show up bald or with his toupee.

 

[Shatnertage]

He split the difference and wore a baseball cap when I saw him last summer.