Having decided against spending close to £100 to see the Captains Opening Ceremony - although I did hear some of it from outside the arena - I had a few aims for the weekend:
1. Meet all 5 Captains and get them to sign my Destination Star Trek London poster.
2. Hear William Shatner talk
3. Have a photo taken with Sir Patrick Stewart
4. Meet Brent Spiner
5. Find a reasonably priced com badge
1. Meeting all 5 Captains and getting my poster signed
Getting the 3 day pass meant a free goodie bag which contained a A3 sized poster of Star Trek London showing all 5 Captains, my mission was clear - I wanted it signed - by all 5 Captains. This gave me a chance to meet all 5 Captains and experience their security, charm and level of eye contact. So let's compare:
a) Kate Mulgrew
She had the shortest queue when I started my challenge so I went to her first. I realised the reason her queue was so short was because she was not even looking up at the people she was signing for. I think I embarrased her into looking up when I said what a pleasure it was to meet her - she looked up and said thanks.
But on the whole she just seemed grumpy which is such a shame as my friends saw her on stage later that day and said that she was such an inspirational speaker but in person - well she was grumpy.
However, she did personalise the autograph, stating - to Hena, Good Luck, Kate Mulgrew. Which was nice.
b) William Shatner
Another speedy signer. Bill had a very long queue but it was moving fast, the lady handing out the virtual queue tickets said that he was whizzing through them. Again, I managed to make eye contact by telling him how much I enjoyed his talk earlier that day - he had the good grace to look at me and say thank you - which was cool.
No personalised autograph but hey- I got to meet William Shatner!! After having heard him speaking - there was no doubting his star quality.
Oh and his security looked like they meant business but they were actually quite friendly and let us take a photo of him signing my poster.
c) Avery Brooks
Possibly the most intimidating of the 5 Captains. The guy in front of us was with a girl who was just there for company I guess. Avery looks at the guy and says "Who is your friend? Are you not going to introduce us? You should introduce your friends - it's polite" Poor guy looked like he was about to Shat-ner himself (sorry). So before I even handed him my poster I said "Please let me introduce you to my brother" and Shai shook his hand!!
I then asked his minder if she would disagree with him to which she answered "I would not dare."
He reminded me a little of what I expect Samuel L Jackson may be like.
Another personalised autograph - thank you Mr Brooks.
Sorry I did not get to see him perform on the piano at the TNG party that evening.
d) Patrick Stewart
Jean Luc most definitely had the strictest security, when I finally found him at the autograph booth, he was away a lot doing talks and photoshoots, we were not even allowed to take photos of him from the queue or while he was signing and his security guard may not have looked as scary as Will Shatner's security but he meant business. They would not even let Shai in to keep me company.
But Patrick Stewart was such a gentleman, he made eye contact, asked how I was and smiled at me - I won't lie - I was completely star struck - wonderful wonderful man.
So not a personalised autograph but an absolute honour. I told him I would see him for my photoshoot shortly, he may have raised an eyebrow but I can't be sure.
e) Scott Bakula
Funnily enough, my last Captain . He just never seemed to be at his table.
If Avery was the most intimidating, Scott Bakula was by far the friendliest Captain. He even did the crinkle eyes smile when I told him I have adored him since Quantum Leap. So cute! He asked how we were doing and said goodbye - he was lovely
My final autograph - personalised and I was done.
The poster is my pride and joy.
Just need a suitable frame.
More Star Trek weekend blogs coming up .......
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