I never thought I'd be saying this.
For the first time, I actually had a GOOD experience at a Creation con (a for-profit convention as opposed to a fan-organized event), and it wasn't at the actual convention (which I attended April 25-26 in Dearborn, Michigan); it was after the world premiere of SPOCK VS. Q, an amusing yet thought-provoking debate between two of the most popular characters in STAR TREK as performed by Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie.
Nimoy and de Lancie took questions following their performance (from a script written by an actual playwright), but even after Nimoy left, de Lancie stayed and talked to the fans.
That entire evening sparked an interesting discussion among some of my friends about the time when people, especially young children, listened to radio dramas and weren't assaulted as much visually like kids today. They actually had to use their imaginations.
While I didn't grow up with radio dramas (though I do remember sneaking downstairs every Friday night to listen to MYSTERY THEATRE hosted by E.G. Marshall), I did grow up with reruns of STAR TREK, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, LOST IN SPACE, BEWITCHED, and MY FAVORITE MARTIAN. I'm glad those shows weren't made like science fiction series are today with fancy computer graphics and CGI effects, because through a young child's eye, those old reruns were the most phenomenal things I had ever watched; my imagination filled in what the producers couldn't. Kids today are really deprived in a way because there's not a whole lot they can imagine on their own.
You know I've always stressed the importance of the printed word and science fiction literature in particular (if you're just watching the filmed adaptations of books rather than reading the actual book, you're sorely missing out), so I'm happy that Nimoy and de Lancie's company, ALIEN VOICES, is embracing such SF classics as THE TIME MACHINE and THE INVISIBLE MAN. It's started me thinking again about doing POWER STAR audiotapes (which is a project I proposed in '92 to help readers with failing eyesight).
Cheers to Mr. de Lancie for not putting up with the strong arm tactics of Creation's staff. From what I understand from POWER STAR staffer Chris Dilloway, they didn't want him to walk around the Dealer's Room or otherwise interact with the fans. He basically told them that they couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted to do.
Good luck to both him and Mr. Nimoy on their future ALIEN VOICES projects and thanks to these talented gentlemen for opening up our minds.
And yes, to all of you who think Q is the hottest thing in space, John really was naked in the episode "Deja Q."
Enjoy!
The opinions represented in this column are solely those of the author and are not indicitive of those of all of the POWER STAR staff.