I did not expect to be loudly chanting “Lower Decks” with a large ballroom of Star Trek fans this past weekend, but there I was, and it felt good.
Dragon Con invaded Atlanta again this year with a plethora of celebrities, comic book industry veterans, and professional cosplayers, turning multiple hotels into a massive nexus of geekdom as attendees swarmed downtown in costumes and clever t-shirts. It’s a wonderful time of the year, and I’m always trying to figure out how to make the most of my time there with so much to experience. I knew I wanted to do more panels this time, but thanks to some odd scheduling and my personal social calendar, I mostly hit up Star Trek panels – a decision I would come to appreciate, especially considering the range of guests from the hit franchise.
From Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov in The Original Series, to mainstays like Garrett Wang from Voyager, who attends and emcees most years, and a slew of actors from several shows that are currently running, it felt like most eras of the shows were represented and there was someone for everyone to appreciate. The Star Trek fans showed up in droves, most donning their uniforms or other mash-up cosplays to show support for the fandom they love. I didn’t dress up but wore my standard-issue Starfleet uniform in spirit.
First up for me was the Lower Decks panel featuring Tawny Newsome (Beckett Mariner), who some may have seen on Space Force, and Eugene Cordero (Samanthan Rutherford), a comedian I also recognize from his role on Loki. These two voice actors were absolutely hilarious together during this Q&A, showing off their excellent chemistry and familiarity with not only each other but the franchise also. I loved hearing Tawny’s stories about correcting some of the showrunners on the lore, as she’s a huge Next Generation and Deep Space Nine fan. There were running gags about most of the questions being directed toward her, to the point that Eugene answered one for Tawny jokingly but accurately as well, and how some characters received names and smaller plots were given more life due to their improvisations. Hearing them speak about working on this show was incredible and made me envious to be a part of something like Lower Decks, even though this was all a bit bittersweet.
It was announced recently that the animated program will conclude with the upcoming fifth season, even though most of the actors have expressed interest in doing more or at least being able to continue with these characters. It’s an adult program full of esoteric references that tried to push the envelope within the franchise and pulled in some new non-traditional Trek fans, so I think most people would call the series a success (it’s wonderful). The crossover episode Lower Decks did with Strange New Worlds was a big topic for questions, and it means the series is just that much more cemented into the overall history. I was glad to hear that at least two of the actors weren’t bitter about it ending and were looking forward to the future, the chance to be a part of Star Trek again. Tawny is already contributing to a new show in the Trek family, a live-action comedy that may share some qualities with Lower Decks, so the outlook isn’t bleak. Fingers crossed, this new thing will impress, and Eugene gets to cameo.
Just as they were getting ready to leave, the moderator called them back and said there was one other thing they needed to do. I’m not sure why the chant surprised me initially, but I couldn’t help myself, I joined in toward the end.
Following that was a panel with several familiar faces I grew up with, as Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), and John de Lancei (Q) all prepared to take questions from Next Gen to Picard, according to the event’s title. The beginning, however, was more of a comedy act between old friends, as Garrett Wang was running late due to the crowds on the skybridge. It’s obvious these people weren’t just colleagues, but friends, with decades of experience and stories to share. They picked on each other, quoted countless references to co-stars who weren’t there, and encouraged Spiner to do his various Patrick Stewart impersonations.
Many of the questions fans asked had to do with their relationships, times working on the old episodes, and who the best and worst guest stars were, but later inquiries were more specific with asking about how certain scripts would have been done differently today, highlighting the progressiveness of TNG and the franchise as a whole pushing boundaries. Frakes said that the studio wasn’t ready for everything they wanted to do, and McFadden cynically joked about how long it took before she was allowed to direct an episode. It was nice to hear the cast speak about their more recent adventures. John de Lancei comes off as a loveable curmudgeon, but when asked about the most iconic scenes between Q and his favorite captain, he spoke more about an interaction from the recent season of Picard. It was awesome to see that these actors can still play their characters at such a level, still thinking about them, and making new memories for the fans. They also spoke about the current programs, showing appreciation for what others who had come after them were doing. It was hard not to smile at all of this.
Last up was the Strange New Worlds Q&A, and there was no way I would miss seeing the stars of my favorite new Trek show, especially after that cliffhanger. There was an excellent grouping of speakers for this panel as well, Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Spock), Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), and Bruce Horak (Hemmer). The TNG crew had such a solid rapport with each other after all those years together, but it was great to see that the SNW cast was almost as tight after only filming three seasons together (don’t worry, they’ll be on season 4 very soon). There were not quite as many ancient stories or esoteric jokes, but these colleagues were learning about each other – like when Christina asked about Babs fighting background and seemed genuinely surprised – showing they knew some of their co-stars’ likes and dislikes, as well as cracking jokes from the set. I can’t help but think it’ll be amazing to see their interactions years later and see how much closer they’ll become.
They all answered questions about their humor and how they approach their roles, and then someone wanted to know about Anson’s prep rituals for his scenes vocally, which ended up in him reciting a nearly three-minute auditorial exercise that I can only describe as a gibberish song. But he wasn’t the only one singing as the group went over their favorite musicals, and a couple of the panel members performed pieces from them. The show had a musical episode last season, and judging from this crowd and the number of questions asked about it, that was a hit. There were many more jokes between the cast members, playing off of the audience questions, and toward the end, people began asking about things they’d seen in the preview for this next season. It was wonderful hearing the actors sound just as excited about what was coming up as the fans did, and though they couldn’t say too much, there were a couple of behind-the-scenes tidbits that had the crowd listening intently. This is their job, but it sounded like this crew knew how much more this meant to us, and I also think to them.
Afterward, I was able to hit up the Walk of Fame, surprised I got through the massive line before it closed. I made the rounds and waited my turn to speak to a few of the people I had just seen on the panels. I’m not much of an autograph person, and I hate pictures of myself, so I just spoke quickly and didn’t take up any of their time if others were waiting for them. After a brief hello with Christina Chong and praising her singing, I caught Tawny Newsome and Eugene Cordero back-to-back, telling them how much I appreciated Lower Decks and looked forward to seeing more from everyone on that show. Anson Mount and Jonathan Frakes both had lines and were busy signing items for fans, but I got to listen to them laugh and tell stories for a few minutes. Finally, I stopped by Bruce Horak’s booth, told him how much I appreciated Hemmer as a fellow albino (he’s not, but the character was), and we had a nice long discussion about his time on the show, his understanding of the species and how albinism worked for them, and then a pretty candid part about how people with this specific genetic mutation are treated in the medium. That honestly made my day for multiple reasons.
I hate to boil it down to everything sounding just so damn positive, but it kind of was. Each of these groups made it feel like they loved what they did and are doing, that they embraced the ideas of Star Trek and were glad to be a part of it, and that no matter what, no one can take that away from them. It also made me appreciate that fans are giving the new shows a chance while still offering the classics the love they deserve, and I walked out of the convention feeling like the future of this franchise was in excellent hands while the returning characters can still offer something and help elevate these new programs. So many fandoms are hard to get into and even tougher to willingly stay associated with, but I am so here for some Star Trek.