The Star Trek Encounter at Universal...What Was It Like?
- Thread starter Aike
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The Encounter at Universal Studios was a chance for you to be filmed (videoed in those days) in a Trek or alien costume in a short, generic 'episode'. If you stood out enough and/or begged the flunkie in charge of 'before show' casting, you could get chosen to participate and then offered the chance to buy a copy afterwards (of course). Put people who really can't act into costume and you have a failry entertaining half-hour diversion for an audience. I was one of the ones who begged to be chosen and still have the rather embarrassing video to prove it. The story took place on the bridge and on an alien planet. I was part of the away team. I will never forget that experience as long as I live. There was this huge rubber-tentacled monster that tries to catch the away team..... and the guy in front of me held onto it while we were suppsed to run off stage, letting go so it swung full-force into my 90-lb frame - knocking the wind out of me and practically off my feet! Just enough time to be caught, forever, on tape. Sigh. The 'story" was pretty stupid, really. But.... I can say it was an experience! Anyone else here "get" to do this when it was around?
P.S. I did not think it was 'better' than The Experience, actually.
P.S. I did not think it was 'better' than The Experience, actually.
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Thanks for your answer. I just found this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rva2v1W_GY
Was this the episode you took part in?
That's not what was shot at Universal... believe it or not the video you posted was actually much more sophisticated than the one shot at Universal. We are talking super-hokey. I can't remember the exact plot except that it did involve the multi-tentacled alien mentioned above... and perhaps the Klingons.
I do recall that I, too, tried over and over again to get cast in it, but never successfully.
Considering that the thing at Universal consisted of ten minutes or so in front of green screens and on a couple of cheeseball sets (the bridge background wasn't that bad I guess) and STTE was a place where you were free to spend as much time as you liked, interact with "real" live aliens and get on 18-minute rides that amounted to full-immersion in a Star Trek episode, not to mention touring a museum of Trek props presented as though they were actual history along with a historical timeline, the Experience wins, hands down. STTE made Star Trek as real as it could ever get.
I do recall that I, too, tried over and over again to get cast in it, but never successfully.
Considering that the thing at Universal consisted of ten minutes or so in front of green screens and on a couple of cheeseball sets (the bridge background wasn't that bad I guess) and STTE was a place where you were free to spend as much time as you liked, interact with "real" live aliens and get on 18-minute rides that amounted to full-immersion in a Star Trek episode, not to mention touring a museum of Trek props presented as though they were actual history along with a historical timeline, the Experience wins, hands down. STTE made Star Trek as real as it could ever get.
I was in an Adam-12 "episode". Universal updated the attraction every few years with a more "current" show.
--Ted
--Ted
I was there on the very first day this attraction opened. Most of the cast was there and played their original parts, in costume.
It was pretty fucking awesome, if I must say so myself.
It was pretty fucking awesome, if I must say so myself.
I think my brother was in something like that years ago, but I don't think it was at Universal. Maybe MGM? I seem to remember him being a baseball player or something like that.
When I was a kid, I went to Universal LA where there was the Star Trek Adventure. Which was substantially different than the thing up on Youtube.
There were several groups of parts:
Bridge Officers- who did their scene on a TWOK Bridge Lookalike set in TWOK era uniforms
Engineers- who did their scenes in an engineering set with panels and things like that in the Engineering Radiation suits.
Landing Party: Who beam down to an alien planet to search for answers.
Bridge Klingons: Klingons who work from a Bridge modeled after TSFS
Planet Klingons: The Klingon Landing Party who beams down to the planet as well.
Aliens: The metrons-like puppetmasters of the situation.
I was an engineer, it was a great experience, we filmed the scenes in front of an audience, then got out of our costumes and makeup then got to sit and watch the edited product which was combined with footage from TSFS and TWOK, some new voiceovers from Shatner. It was pretty cool, I've got to track down the tape it's around my folks house somewhere.
There were several groups of parts:
Bridge Officers- who did their scene on a TWOK Bridge Lookalike set in TWOK era uniforms
Engineers- who did their scenes in an engineering set with panels and things like that in the Engineering Radiation suits.
Landing Party: Who beam down to an alien planet to search for answers.
Bridge Klingons: Klingons who work from a Bridge modeled after TSFS
Planet Klingons: The Klingon Landing Party who beams down to the planet as well.
Aliens: The metrons-like puppetmasters of the situation.
I was an engineer, it was a great experience, we filmed the scenes in front of an audience, then got out of our costumes and makeup then got to sit and watch the edited product which was combined with footage from TSFS and TWOK, some new voiceovers from Shatner. It was pretty cool, I've got to track down the tape it's around my folks house somewhere.
There's a website devoted to the Universal Studios tour, The Studio Tour, with pages on attractions past and present.
Here's the page for the Star Trek Adventure
Here's the page for the Star Trek Adventure
I was in the "Airport '77" version as a kid.
Cool thanks. I think the video I posted above was from Universal in Orlando.
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