Star Trek Icon Underestimates Popularity Of Fan Conventions
Even before Comic-Con became part of every geek’s vocabulary, there was another kind of gathering that made genre nerds hanging out downright mainstream. We’re talking, of course, about Star Trek conventions, events where fans can chew the replicated fat over important questions like whether Kirk or Picard are better captains.
These conventions have become so popular and commonplace that we were shocked to discover that Spock actor Leonard Nimoy once had trouble imagining the conventions lasting into the ‘90s.
Leonard Nimoy Understood Why Fans Love Star Trek
The full context of Nimoy’s comments on Star Trek conventions comes from an old Playboy feature on The Motion Picture. The actor was offering his thoughts on what made Trek resonate with fans in a way that never seemed to happen with other TV shows.
Nimoy began by saying “there are six or eight TV shows that you could turn on and mistake one for the others.” Continuing, he said, “you could put the bald guy in this one and the guy with the police uniform in that one, and it wouldn’t matter.”
Iconic Characters
Interestingly, Nimoy’s 70s-era criticism of the television landscape seems more applicable now than ever before. Certainly, you could remix and rearrange actors from any number of police procedurals and still have the same by-the-numbers episodes that mainstream audiences crave. By comparison, Nimoy claimed that the characters on Star Trek: The Original Series “are specifically identifiable as individuals” and that “everybody knows who each of these characters is and feels very deep personal relationships with them.”
Thought Conventions Would Be A Fad
As part of the point that he was making, Nimoy brought up the topic of Star Trek conventions. “With all due respect to all the shows that are on the air,” he said, “I don’t know of any other that will warrant a fan convention seven or ten years from now, anyplace.” The actor was most likely referencing the fact that Star Trek had continued to have fan-led conventions since the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969, and the number of fans attending these gatherings only grew as the show became popular in reruns throughout the ‘70s.
The Unique Appeal Of Star Trek
Regarding Nimoy’s comments, we certainly agree with the unique appeal of Star Trek…certainly, we’re among the fans who feel a deep kinship with our favorite heroes in this Gene Roddenberry universe. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve attended so many Star Trek conventions over the years and will eventually get over our seasickness enough to go on one of those official cruises. However, we’re struck by how much Nimoy underestimated the enduring appeal of Star Trek conventions.
Conventions Are Thriving Decades Later
There’s a chance the legendary actor was being modest and didn’t want to make bold claims that Star Trek conventions would outlive everyone who worked on The Original Series. And he may very well have just been discussing his observed experience (at the time of the interview, these conventions had been going on after the show’s end for about a decade).
Still, the fact remains that the Spock actor predicted Star Trek conventions lasting “seven or ten years” past 1979, but these geeky gatherings have remained insanely prevalent and popular all these decades later.
Fans Keep The Legacy Alive
While the actor has sadly passed away, we like to think that Leonard Nimoy would be proud that Star Trek conventions have endured and that fans help to keep the spirit of the show alive. Specific fans like Paul Forest (better known as “Spock Vegas”) even keep the memory of Nimoy himself alive with their uncanny resemblance to his Vulcan character. Thanks to the lifelong devotions of such fans, this is one franchise that won’t stop “boldly going” anytime soon.
