Hey, kids,
As some of you have seen, it's official; Star Trek: The Experience will end its near ten year run on Sept. 1. 2008. Some of you may have seen me there in its first four years as one of the blue uniform guys who load you in at the beginning, as an operations lead in various Starfleet roles, and finally as Kralk, son of T'Nek, from 1999 through the summer of 2001 and the summer of 2002 and convention week 2003 (Kralk's last official mission).
It was one of my coolest gigs ever and I'd like to use this thread to share some fond memories. I encourage the rest of you to do the same (please no negatives in this thread). I would like to print it out and present it to the management and staff during the Creation Con in Aug.
Here are a few of my favorite moments;
On opening day, people spontaneously bursting into tears when they found themselves transported to the Enterprise. I remember one lady in particular who ran her fingers over the transporter console apologetically saying, "I just gotta touch it."
The look on the transporter officer's face when we got our first assistance dog going through with a guest. We wondered how the dog would handle the turbolift, thinking we might have to rename it the "turdolift". As it turns out the local assistance dog training school liked to use the Experience because of all the flashing lights, loud noises, and "interesting" persons walking around. It also helped that the owner was a Trekkie.
The English gentleman who asked to be removed after being transported because it was "just too exciting."
Improvising short circuits in the grand corridor wall panels using flashing pens.
When I was a uniformed operations lead, using my walkie talkie as a scanning device when guests would come by an open shuttle bay.
Being paid to share a three-hour dinner with a family for their son's birthday in full Klingon regalia. Cool kid. Knew how to play the game. The guy must be 19 or 20 now. His birthday is, I believe, Sept. 11. Yikes! Like I said the id was cool, his parents were cool, his grandmother just kept staring at me and the uncle was trying to wrap his head around the whole thing by interogating me the entire time. That experience tested both my knowledge of Klingon culture and my improvisation abilities. I used everything I knew, everything I could extrapolate and then just started making things up.
Sharing the following exchange with Nana Visitor (in town starring in "Chicago" at Madalay Bay):
Kralk: You look familiar.
Nana: So do you.
Kralk:...Col.?
Nana: Shh. I had Dr. Bashir take the ridges off while visiting this time period.
Kralk: Majqa. (Well done)
I was with Maj. Kahlyn at the time and as we walked away, we heard her tell our general manager, "She's fantastic."
Similarly, as we passed "Gen. Martok" (J. G. Hertzler) during the first Creation Con in 2002, we overheard the Gen. say, "Magnificent." Kahlyn turned to him and said, "Shouldn't you be saying that to Sirella?" He said, "Sirella isn't here." Laughter and invitations to The Experience ensued. As we walked away, a guest asked him, "Why aren't you in uniform like them?" He replied, "Because I'm just an actor. They're the real thing." Ego boosting to say the least.
I could obviously go on for days but I'm looking forward to your remembrances.
Before I turn this over to you, I have to give a shout out to the faces behind the alien ambassadors, some of the finest actors I've ever had the priviledge to work with. Here's to you Jon, Nate, Todd, Markus, Richard, Barry, Mark, Paul, Tom, Lynn, Greg, Tim, Jerad, April, Kerstan, and our sometime alien Starfleet liaisons Amy, Tree, Todd, George and I'm forgetting about three or four others because I'm lame. Hopefully someone else will fill in the gaps in my memory.
It was a great run and I'll never forget it. Now to you all---
As some of you have seen, it's official; Star Trek: The Experience will end its near ten year run on Sept. 1. 2008. Some of you may have seen me there in its first four years as one of the blue uniform guys who load you in at the beginning, as an operations lead in various Starfleet roles, and finally as Kralk, son of T'Nek, from 1999 through the summer of 2001 and the summer of 2002 and convention week 2003 (Kralk's last official mission).
It was one of my coolest gigs ever and I'd like to use this thread to share some fond memories. I encourage the rest of you to do the same (please no negatives in this thread). I would like to print it out and present it to the management and staff during the Creation Con in Aug.
Here are a few of my favorite moments;
On opening day, people spontaneously bursting into tears when they found themselves transported to the Enterprise. I remember one lady in particular who ran her fingers over the transporter console apologetically saying, "I just gotta touch it."
The look on the transporter officer's face when we got our first assistance dog going through with a guest. We wondered how the dog would handle the turbolift, thinking we might have to rename it the "turdolift". As it turns out the local assistance dog training school liked to use the Experience because of all the flashing lights, loud noises, and "interesting" persons walking around. It also helped that the owner was a Trekkie.
The English gentleman who asked to be removed after being transported because it was "just too exciting."
Improvising short circuits in the grand corridor wall panels using flashing pens.
When I was a uniformed operations lead, using my walkie talkie as a scanning device when guests would come by an open shuttle bay.
Being paid to share a three-hour dinner with a family for their son's birthday in full Klingon regalia. Cool kid. Knew how to play the game. The guy must be 19 or 20 now. His birthday is, I believe, Sept. 11. Yikes! Like I said the id was cool, his parents were cool, his grandmother just kept staring at me and the uncle was trying to wrap his head around the whole thing by interogating me the entire time. That experience tested both my knowledge of Klingon culture and my improvisation abilities. I used everything I knew, everything I could extrapolate and then just started making things up.
Sharing the following exchange with Nana Visitor (in town starring in "Chicago" at Madalay Bay):
Kralk: You look familiar.
Nana: So do you.
Kralk:...Col.?
Nana: Shh. I had Dr. Bashir take the ridges off while visiting this time period.
Kralk: Majqa. (Well done)
I was with Maj. Kahlyn at the time and as we walked away, we heard her tell our general manager, "She's fantastic."
Similarly, as we passed "Gen. Martok" (J. G. Hertzler) during the first Creation Con in 2002, we overheard the Gen. say, "Magnificent." Kahlyn turned to him and said, "Shouldn't you be saying that to Sirella?" He said, "Sirella isn't here." Laughter and invitations to The Experience ensued. As we walked away, a guest asked him, "Why aren't you in uniform like them?" He replied, "Because I'm just an actor. They're the real thing." Ego boosting to say the least.
I could obviously go on for days but I'm looking forward to your remembrances.
Before I turn this over to you, I have to give a shout out to the faces behind the alien ambassadors, some of the finest actors I've ever had the priviledge to work with. Here's to you Jon, Nate, Todd, Markus, Richard, Barry, Mark, Paul, Tom, Lynn, Greg, Tim, Jerad, April, Kerstan, and our sometime alien Starfleet liaisons Amy, Tree, Todd, George and I'm forgetting about three or four others because I'm lame. Hopefully someone else will fill in the gaps in my memory.
It was a great run and I'll never forget it. Now to you all---
I'll be hanging around the Experience as much as possible for the 5 days before the convention starts.
They didn't, but the several BBSers who gracious came to meet me on a week night did. By then, I had already sampled the Warp Core Breach. (I had NO idea it was meant for two or three people. 
), we wrote up a debate on the authorship of the works of Shakespeare. I debated the human side and Motog and Churoq debated the Klingon side. It was moderated by Rogl. It went over quite well. I wonder if anyone has video of it that they could post on Youtube.
