Can Trek XI (Or Anything Else) Save the Star Trek Convention?

[Frontier]

While this thread has Trek XI in the title, it's really much more about conventions, hence why it's here, not there...

When Slanted Fedora went belly-up, it was no shock. It was a long time coming. David Scott and company where crooks. They pissed the fans off. They pissed the celebrities off. Those of us fortunate enough to ride their wave always knew they where destined to hit the wall. We enjoyed the ride while we could, though.

After Fedora, things returned pretty much to normal. Creation was the big dog again. The other smaller outfits did their things too. It was back to business as usual.

That said, has anyone looked at Creation's upcoming events calendar of late? They have 3... THREE Star Trek events for 2009. Vegas, Grand Slam, and an East Coast show that's been postponed TWICE already, from November 2008, to March 2009, now to summer of 2009.

We've also had a year of big-time convention failures. The imitation TrekExpo US disaster, the JumpCon fiasco (in which I lost $469...) and then I just heard Vulkon even had to suddenly push it's Indianapolis show back until 2009, royally screwing a number of ticket holders with non-refundable plane tickets.

So my question is... can Trek XI, or anything else for that matter, save the Star Trek convention? Could we actually be at the end of that particular phenomenon?

Oh, I don't doubt some sort of autograph/celebrity interaction events of some sort will go on. There are other types of those even now. But the spectacle of a Star Trek convention, tried and true - the weekend of people in starfleet uniforms and klingon make-up and 98% of other people looking at those folks funny as we wear just t-shirts and pass for semi-normal human beings... is that dieing?

 

[Deckerd]

Never been to a convention. Don't understand what they're for.

 

[Cicero]

Never been to a convention. Don't understand what they're for.

These are my feelings, too.

 

[dave_R_treker]

I haven't been to a convention in a LONG time. There hasn't been one here in many years. Creation was the one who ran them (atleast the majority). I think the last one I went to was with Robert Duncan McNeill.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I don't think this movie by itself will save Trek Conventions. If it's successful and has follow-ups, then it will definitely attract a lot more attention. But, right now, conventions are for the hard core fans. Casual fans (even those who like the new movie) will probably still be intimidated to go.

 

[Marie1]

I've never been to a convention, but with the economy the way it is, and with attendance being low, I can see the postponements are by necessity. Tho I heard some rather nasty things about Vulkon which has lead Starbase Indy to separate itself perhaps permanently from them.

But on the whole, yes, Star Trek 11 should amp up the interest in ST fans, especially those who have not realized/forgotten about Trek Lit- so hopefully more people will go to the cons out of rejuvenated ST interest, here about the books, go buy them and read them and... hopefully go outside for Vitamin D at least once in a while...

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I stopped going to Trek conventions years ago. The only con I attend yearly is the San Diego Comic Con.

 

[seigezunt]

[Kirk]Let them die.[/Kirk]

 

[Smiley]

We'll probably see more general sci-fi/comics conventions with guests from all over for a while.

 

[Admiral Bear]

Creation dropped the number of Trek conventions they hold each year because, to be blunt, no one was turning up to them, especially the smaller regional ones.

Having been to the UK events that Creation ran in London a few years ago (2003-2007), I can safely say I'm not surprised people stopped going. They were exorbitantly priced and provided very little in the way of entertainment. Add to that the mickey mouse organisation, Creation's money grabbing "you can't breathe in here unless you pay us another £25" attitude, and you had a recipe for disaster.

I'll never forget the sight of seeing a woman lying asleep on a row of chairs in the auditorium between a gap of about 3 hours with no guests on stage because there was NOTHING else to do.

At the end of the day, there are no longer any decent convention organisers in operation anywhere in the world. From experience, I would say that most conventions, Trek or otherwise, offer so little, they are only for very gullible people who have far too much spare cash.

 

[Smiley]

Anywhere in the world? That's quite a stretch.

I was at Celebration IV last year. GenCon did not do everything perfectly, but the overall experience was superb. There was no shortage of things to see and do, that's for sure. I've also been to a couple of good local conventions in Arizona, one in the late 90s and one in 2005.

There will always be convention organizations that are overcharging the fans and/or are fairly incompetent, but there are still those that offer some magical experiences.

 

[NCC1968]

We seem to be losing ground to StarWars - only six movies and no TV series.....what's the big deal....

 

[Hober Mallow]

Never been to a convention. Don't understand what they're for.

Back in the day they were the only way for masses of fans to meet up, hear some behind the scenes stories, hear about upcoming events or episodes, ask a question of a special guest, and buy tie-in merchandise. With the internet here, there seems to me little point to the convention; Star Trek fans can do all those things on the internet 24/7. For that reason, I think conventions are on the way out no matter how much popularity Star Trek regains. Sure, you can get an autograph, meet people in person at a convention, but as attendance goes down, costs of attending are probably going to go up, leaving only the die hard die hards still going.

 

[Newt]

Creation dropped the number of Trek conventions they hold each year because, to be blunt, no one was turning up to them, especially the smaller regional ones.

Having been to the UK events that Creation ran in London a few years ago (2003-2007), I can safely say I'm not surprised people stopped going. They were exorbitantly priced and provided very little in the way of entertainment. Add to that the mickey mouse organisation, Creation's money grabbing "you can't breathe in here unless you pay us another £25" attitude, and you had a recipe for disaster.

I'll never forget the sight of seeing a woman lying asleep on a row of chairs in the auditorium between a gap of about 3 hours with no guests on stage because there was NOTHING else to do.

At the end of the day, there are no longer any decent convention organisers in operation anywhere in the world. From experience, I would say that most conventions, Trek or otherwise, offer so little, they are only for very gullible people who have far too much spare cash.

My last convention was a few years ago in London. It was the first Creation convention in the UK if I remember correctly. I've been to some fan ran conventions before, so this was not my first party. But what a contrast it was, creation was highly expensive, the dealer's room was small and pricey and the lack of entertainment was disgusting. Could not fault the actors, Leonard Nimoy was a class act. But Creation were a bunch of money grabbing bastards.

Not been to a convention since.

 

[Supervisor 194]

I think Star Trek expanded to the point where it actually hurt the cons--not all Trekkies are fans of every show. It was one thing to go to a con to see the stars up close back when TOS was the only game in town, but now you're likely to get a mishmash of actors from series you may or may not even like. The new movie might generate a little interest but the day of the "Star Trek convention" is essentially over.

 

[Amaris]

I've always wanted to go to a convention. Years and years ago (about 1994), there was a convention about 20 miles from where I lived. I tried my best to go, but I had school that day and not enough money for tickets. That is the last time there was a Star Trek convention held there to date.

J.

 

[Admiral Bear]

Creation dropped the number of Trek conventions they hold each year because, to be blunt, no one was turning up to them, especially the smaller regional ones.

Having been to the UK events that Creation ran in London a few years ago (2003-2007), I can safely say I'm not surprised people stopped going. They were exorbitantly priced and provided very little in the way of entertainment. Add to that the mickey mouse organisation, Creation's money grabbing "you can't breathe in here unless you pay us another £25" attitude, and you had a recipe for disaster.

I'll never forget the sight of seeing a woman lying asleep on a row of chairs in the auditorium between a gap of about 3 hours with no guests on stage because there was NOTHING else to do.

At the end of the day, there are no longer any decent convention organisers in operation anywhere in the world. From experience, I would say that most conventions, Trek or otherwise, offer so little, they are only for very gullible people who have far too much spare cash.

My last convention was a few years ago in London. It was the first Creation convention in the UK if I remember correctly. I've been to some fan ran conventions before, so this was not my first party. But what a contrast it was, creation was highly expensive, the dealer's room was small and pricey and the lack of entertainment was disgusting. Could not fault the actors, Leonard Nimoy was a class act. But Creation were a bunch of money grabbing bastards.

Not been to a convention since.

I was at that Nimoy event. I can vividly remember thinking that Nimoy seemed to be in his own world somewhat, rambling and a bit odd. But the place was packed out, one of the few times Creation actually managed a good turnout.

Feel lucky that you managed to miss their 2007 Colm Meaney debacle. It was so bad, I've not been to another convention since either.

 

[Vulcankitty]

This week I've been on the very brink of purchasing my Vegas Convention ticket (six conventions so far). I'm wavering though this year because I've heard rumors of a low turnout and there's the fact that Hilton closed down the Experience. The conventions are the only place where I can feel at home....Star Trek all day long, talking (and drinking) with other people who understand what it really mean to be a Star Trek fan.

I really hope that the new movie will blow me away and bring new fans into the fold, but Star Trek is way more than any one movie, show or book. Even if there are only the die hards attending the convention; they're the ones I want to talk to anyway.

 

[WillsBabe]

Depends what you mean by "saving conventions". When I started going to cons, they were held a couple of times a year. Maybe 350 people attended, usually the same folks at both events. We had a ball. I've even been to cons with no more than 50 people in attendance, held in a single room in a hotel. They were like that for years. Personally, I don't care for the big Creation-style events. I don't go to cons to see actors or to get autographs or trawl the dealers' room. I go to see friends, chew the cud, spend a weekend in a nice hotel chilling out. If cons go back to being small, speicalist, die hard things, that's fine by me. If they go back to being large scale, exhibition hall type events, the way that they were in the 90s, that isn't really "saving" them in my opinion. Just the way I feel.

 

[Admiral Bear]

WillsBauble, those Reindeer antlers soooooooooooo suit Patrick Stewart!