Guys-
Just got back from the Exhibition that is now in San Jose, California in the middle of Silicon Valley. It was located in the Tech Museum.
It was pretty cool! I've seen a lot of the stuff in there before, and I didn't find too many things that I was amazed by. I've been a big fan for years and seen this kind of material before. That's not to say it was a waste of time or money. I did enjoy it a lot!
The show originally debuted in Los Angeles and was run by one company. They went bust and a new exhibition company took over and now splits the materials between two cities at the same time. So I was kind of disappointed by that. I'll explain later.
The Exhibit opens with a large entry area and they have some costumes and props behind glass tubes. The costumes, for the most part are real. I went with some fans who know the costumes as they collect them. So they knew real from replica. I was impressed they had costumes from TOS still looking god. They have the environmental suit worn in The Naked Time and Kor's Klingon costume was mostly intact.
There was a display of TOS props. They were mostly the Master Replica replicas you could buy a few years ago, phaser, communicator and tricorder and hypo. Plus a Master Replicas 3 foot Enterprise model in the same display case.
From there, they lead you into the TOS Enterprise Bridge replica. About 80% the size we thought of the original. It wasn't that great in terms of accuracy, but still very cool to be in! It was crowded in there. There was a photographer who would take your picture of you in the captains chair! I checkened out! Sulu and Chekov's chair was missing. What I was disappointed by is that since the show is split between 2 cites, they don't both get the same stuff. So the TNG Enterprise D bridge was not there. But they had the captains chair in front of a large print of the bridge.
From there, you exit the bridge through the turbolift and it leads down a hall that opened into a Next Generation corridor. On the side was Picard's quarters recreated. Not too bad! His flute was in there.
The next room had the Guardian of Forever looking pretty well recreated! Plus this room had Voyager costumes, 7 or 9, Neelix, and later Kes and Major Kira. There was also a transporter room. You had another photo op and a video of you being beamed out.
The last area had the chronology of Star Trek from Enterprise to the new film along a large wall display. There was also real filming minatures of the Enterprise D, the Excelsior, the travel pod from The Motion Picture, Stargazer and a few other miniatures. And more costumes from DS9 and the new film.
Finally, there was a ride section and gift shop. The rides were the same, one that carries 15 people and is mild and the other is a 2 person pod and really moves around, and goes upside down. I rode the mild one. This was on a gimble and rocked left and right and up and down. I think it could have been from the old Star Trek Experience in Vegas. You're in a shuttlecraft evading the Borg trying to get a captured Borg chip to the Federation to use to defeat the Borg. You fly through the rings of Saturn, a molten planet surface, back to the Moon and then confronted by three Borg Spheres. All through this, Michael Dorn's voice is heard as Worf speaking about what he's doing. At the end, when it looks like we can't get away from the Borg Spheres, he says one of his classic lines. I won't spoil it for you. But he says:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Perhaps today is a good day to die!
The Enterprise D comes along and saves the day and we land in the shuttlebay and see the Borg spheres defeated.
It was pretty fun on the whole! Less then I expected, content wise. Go with kids or go with your Trek friends. If you get a chance to go to Seattle, go to the Sci Fi Museum. I went there for the 40th Anniversary convention. The museum was great, not just Star Trek. And the props are all real, not replicas. That's why I said I had seen this before. And I've had the fortune to see the real screen used communicator and phasers from TOS at a friend's house.
I think the timing for this Star Trek Exhibit was timed well with the renewed interest in Star Trek due to the new film. If it comes to your city, go see it!
