Living long, prospering:
Weekend “Star Trek” convention wasn’t just for geeks.
I successfully pitched a story about “Star Wars” fans to my editors several years ago. When I called the president of a local fan club to ask if I could shadow him for a day or two, the response I received was polite but succinct.
“Is this going to be another ‘look at the dorks’ article?”
It wasn’t paranoia. There has been a long history of “look at the dorks” articles and TV reports when it comes to people with a passion for science fiction.
With the latest Creation Entertainment “Star Trek” convention arriving in town over the weekend, I decided to look at the past along with the present. Before setting foot in the Westin St. Francis Hotel to meet with fans on Friday, I spent three hours looking at photos and articles covering the “Star Trek” phenomenon in the Bay Area — dating back to the 1970s when fans started In a 1979 photo, David Carlos’ Vulcan getup draws stares outside a “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” showing. their successful movement to resurrect the canceled show.
The image that jumped out the most was a 1979 Chronicle photo of David Carlos, who wore pointy fake Vulcan ears while waiting in line for the first showing of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” at the Regency I in San Francisco. He’s beaming, clearly thrilled to be seeing the movie. Three other men are in the background, appearing to look in his direction as if he’s from another dimension.
In the early years, after “Star Trek” went off the air in 1969, I’m guessing that fans didn’t expect to be teased. The article about David Carlos and other superfans at the movie premiere wasn’t horribly unkind, but it was framed in the typical mainstream media approach toward sci-fi fandom: like these people were escaped mental patients, not fans of a good TV show.
The Chronicle was better than most — reporter (and future “Creature Features” host) John Stanley wrote many thoughtful profiles and articles about science fiction. Columnist Herb Caen devoted more than half of a positive column to the first “Star Trek” convention, held at San Francisco’s Lincoln High School in 1975.
But many more articles adopted the pattern that some print and broadcast outlets still follow.
1. Send your most comedically inclined reporter (usually not a sci-fi fan) to the convention.
2. Interview the people who look the most like outcasts.
3. Point out how much everything costs.
4. Add a few geek-bashing one-liners.
The themes of “Star Trek” and the nature of fantasy do attract an eccentric crowd. But I think non-fans attending a “Star Trek” convention would be surprised at how socially
normal it is, especially in this era of so many mainstream video games and fantasy films — including new “Star Trek” prequels that play to wide audiences.
The 1970s conventions were looser, often featuring an eclectic cast that might include a couple of “Star Trek” stars, some NASA scientists and — in at least one case — psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary.
Most of the action at this weekend’s convention flowed around a rotating group of speakers from the original “Star Trek” and its spin-offs. (George Takei, who played San Francisco native Sulu in the original series, was the keynote.) Series stars sold autographs in a separate room, with a larger area for vendors and actors with a smaller connection to the “Star Trek” universe.
Michael Aron, who played Jack London in a two-episode arc of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” grew up in San Francisco and now works as a designer and motorcycle gear retailer in Marin. His first-ever convention was earlier this year in Las Vegas.
“What I anticipated and what I got are two different things,” Aron said. “It’s true there’s some geekiness, but I found everyone to be very endearing. There was much more love than I expected.”
Two of the fans this weekend, Greek Orthodox priests in their early 30s, flew in from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Other than a couple of subtle “Star Trek”-theme T-shirts, they looked like any other tourists near Union Square.
“The stigma exists still,” said Ted Paraskevopoulos. “But it was worse before.”
“We just got a text from his wife saying we’re the ultimate nerds,” Kosta Tsiolas added.
Everyone in the group took it as a joke.
“People find out that I’m coming here because of Facebook, and it’s amazing how many positive things I hear,” Paraskevopoulos said. “‘That’s so cool!’ ‘Good for you indulging in something that you love and you’re passionate about.’ I haven’t heard anything negative.’ ”
Which is the happy ending to the “Star Trek” fan journey. Look around Silicon Valley — the geeks did pretty good for themselves. The “look at the dorks” stories may still exist, but they appear as antiquated as some of the computer equipment on the first Starship Enterprise.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” co-star LeVar Burton, interviewing with The Chronicle on Friday for a future story about his new “Reading Rainbow” iPad app, says he’s noticed the changes.
“There is a whole generation of ‘Next Generation’ fans who are watching the shows at home and bringing their kids to cons,” Burton said. “They’ve loved the show their whole lives. They’re passing it on to the next generation.”