SAN FRANCISCO -- A Trekkie convention is a marketer and merchandiser's dream come true.
On Saturday, the lobby of San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium was transformed into an overpriced Trekkie flea market, with an endless array of television and film-related products selling faster than a transporter beam in action.
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Booths stuffed up against one another displayed gilded framed photos of the various Star Trek crews, from the original show to the later spin-off series (Next Generation, Voyager).
Autographed pictures of the actors -- shot either in clingy costumes or black turtlenecks -- went for up to US$1,000.
Other booths carried everything and anything that even remotely crossed the boundaries of sci-fi television. In addition to the requisite plastic busts of Dr. Spock, his hand raised in Vulcan salute, there were countless products for sale representing Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena and Hercules, Lost in Space, the X-Files, even South Park.
Everybody was out to make a buck off the Trekkie trend. Even actors with bit parts in a just one Star Trek episode sat at their booths, looking to sell an 8-by-10 photo and a signature for $10 bucks a piece.
One company offered discounts on "Cruise Trek '99 –- Panama Canal: The Epic Cruise," a seven- to 15-day Trekkie convention at sea.
There was even a Star Trek credit card offering a 3.9 percent interest.
The Bay Area Klingon club was there in full battle regalia as well, handing out flyers and trying to boost membership.
The convention entertainment line-up left much to be desired, with an audience that barely filled half of the Masonic' main auditorium.
But the marketers from Fox made the most of it by hanging a giant banner promoting Chris Carter's new series, Harsh Realm, on the stage. They gave away tons of free merchandise from the series, including sweatshirts, T-shirts, posters, pens, and mugs.
Kenny Baker, the vertically challenged actor who plays R2D2 in the Star Wars films, told jokes to an admiring and polite audience and performed a few unconvincing chirps and whistles.
Even the makeshift snack bar in the bowels of the auditorium played off the Star Trek theme to sell greasy hot dogs, warm sodas, and snacks like Space Chips, Kirky Turkey sandwiches, and misspelled Cling-On Cookies.
