Spock Beams Into ‘Star Trek’ Gathering

About 6,000 “Star Trek” fans beamed down to the Disneyland Hotel on Saturday anticipating a galaxy of delights, among them a talk by Leonard Nimoy, the most memorable actor from the television series and the director of the upcoming movie, “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.”

“This is the Magic Kingdom meets the Final Frontier,” said Kerry O’Quinn, publisher of Starlog magazine, sponsor of the 20th-anniversary “Star Trek” convention. He said people had come from “all over the world.”

Perhaps the first of them were Morjana Coffman of Pleasant Hill, near Oakland, and her friend, Janet. They started waiting in line at 5:30 a.m.

The two-day convention, which began Saturday, offers fans an array of science-fiction memorabilia from the “Star Trek” show as well as the “Star Wars” movies and other science-fiction films and TV shows.

The television series was last telecast in network prime time on Sept. 2, 1969. But “Star Trek” developed a cult following, and many stations continue to show reruns. Nothing surprises the most avid fans, however: they have all the episodes memorized.

Among the items for sale Saturday was a photograph autographed by actors William Shatner (Capt. Kirk in the series), Nimoy (Spock) and DeForrest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) that went for $65.

Posters, badges, movie and TV still photographs, books and magazines ran the gamut in price from $1 for a wanted poster for the capture of Kirk to $95 for an out-of-print book, “The Star Trek Concordance.”

Ernie and David Monte of Hollywood came in Star Trek costumes. They agreed that the appeal of the long-running TV show is that “the technology is more believable; it doesn’t overshadow the human element.”

“We’re here just to share the experience,” said Dennis and Beverly Knotts of Riverside. “Trekkies have a special spirit that no others have.”

Anthony Baer, 10, and his buddy Mark Wagner, 11, came from Costa Mesa. They expressed interest in flying aboard the starship Enterprise, the space vessel that carried Kirk and his crew on their voyages.

“It’s so cool,” Wagner said. “It would be rad to fly a starship.”

On hand Saturday were several of the original actors from the series: Majel Barrett Roddenberry (the wife of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, she played Christine Chapel in the TV series), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Mark Lenard (Spock’s Vulcan father Sarek) as well as the Vulcan science officer himself, Nimoy, who spoke to a capacity crowd late Saturday afternoon.