Space-Time Continuum : Trekkers Show Allegiance, and Costumes, at Anaheim Convention

Some came hoping to catch a glimpse of the Enterprise crew. Other Trekkers were snapping up plastic photon phasers and life-sized posters of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.

Denise Fennell and Roy Henderson came to the Anaheim Convention Center’s Star Trek Convention Saturday to show off.

They were decked in full Klingon gear--rippled foreheads, long curly hair, silver battle weapons and, of course, spiked knuckle bands. And even though it takes them more than an hour to create the space warrior look that they wear to all the conventions, Fennell and Henderson said it gives them a chance to be someone else for a while--someone who stands for honor, truth and battle.

“It’s fun playing dress-up,” said Fennell, a 32-year-old San Bernardino homemaker. “It’s like when you’re a kid and you’re pretending you’re someone you’re not. When I’m dressed like this people think I’m someone, even though I tell them I’m not.”

The duo, who met at a Star Trek convention in San Bernardino last year, has since made appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Mike and Maty Show.” On Saturday, they were drawing crowds of admirers as Trek fans waited for a real Klingon--well, the actor who plays Lt. Worf, anyway--to make an appearance.

“We’ve been around,” said Henderson, 50, who has a real job working as an engineer for Riverside County. “And it’s all because we dress like this.”

The one-day convention allowed thousands of fans a chance to purchase a full range of Trek paraphernalia, participate in a costume contest and meet some of the cast members of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Both Jonathan Frakes, who plays Cmdr. Will Ricker, and Michael Dorn, who plays Lt. Worf, made late appearances.

But throughout the day it was the two self-styled Klingons who were the stars as they posed for countless pictures and signed autographs.

Fennell and Henderson said their characters have become so popular that they are talking about taking their show beyond Star Trek conventions. The Klingon Assault Group, which Fennell said consists of 11 other people donned in Star Trek costumes, is planning to hit the goodwill circuit, visiting cancer patients and charities involving children.

And although the popular spin-off “Star Trek: The Next Generation” recently completed its run, Fennell said that’s OK because “Klingons will never die.”

Throughout the day, fans could walk into the arena and watch a series of video salutes to “The Next Generation,” which ran for seven seasons. And although most of the fans were sad to see the series end, many said they are looking forward to the upcoming movie, which features “The Next Generation” cast.

“ ‘Star Trek’ will never go away,” said 14-year-old Kai Kaahaaina, who dressed in a Star Fleet uniform. “There will always be movies and reruns.”

Kaahaaina said he’s a fan because the show gives him a positive feeling about the future.

“It shows us a future where diseases are curable and people of different races can coexist,” he said.

Another fan, Lisa Early, had come to the convention with shopping in mind. She said the show was on a smaller scale than others she has attended, but she wanted to grab some last-minute souvenirs, including a “Next Generation” tote bag she’d been searching for.

“This (trip) is more for buying,” she said. “With ‘Next Generation’ going off the air, people are buying like mad.”

But not everyone who attended the convention was a die-hard Trekker.

Ray O’Dell, the owner of an auto repair shop, said he had seen the show only a couple of times when his friends persuaded him to go to his first-ever convention. And he said he never expected the crowd’s response when he walked on stage for the costume contest. With his pale complexion and bald head, he is the spitting image of Capt. Picard.

The Trekkers went wild.

“With noise like that you could start another earthquake,” the announcer said in response to the applause. O’Dell won the contest, taking home T-shirts, souvenir pins--and thoughts of an acting career.