Day 3: Revelry from Saturday night’s Tiki Party made for late risers on the third day of the convention. Blurry-eyed fans slowly shuffled between the Dealer’s Room, photo ops, and speaker’s panels. As the first panelist of the day, an unlucky Nicole de Boer (Star Trek: Deep Space 9) caught the brunt of the audience’s hangover, with weary fans arriving throughout her presentation. Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: TNG) fared better, entertaining a room that was packed by the time she hit the stage. Sirtis kept the audience going with anecdotal stories of her time on Star Trek TNG, but then floundered with an off-color remark critical of Lesbians. The comment left the crowd silent, forcing Sirtis to retract it. Sirtis then admitted she should not have made such a remark, and acknowledged that there might be Lesbians in the audience. Both Sirtis and fans were eager to move on.
Alice Krige, the critically acclaimed Grand Dame of sci fi/fantasy film, noted for her roles in Chariots of Fire, Ghost Story, Silent Hill, and for her mesmerizing portrayal of the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact, captivated convention-goers with her ethereal presence. One imagines how effortlessly she must bring her characters to life. Regarding her portrayal of the Borg Queen, Krige said, “the contact lenses for the Borg Queen were laced with Chrome so that I could see out, but no one could see in. When I put them on, everyone gasped and stood back. The Borg Queen had suddenly come to life.” The crowd went wild, giving Krige an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Saturn Award winning actress, Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) looked remarkably refreshed after a long night of limbo dancing. Accused by some of playing it too safe at the Grand Slam convention, fans once again asked Sackhoff the million-dollar question, “Who of her co-stars on Battlestar Galactica is the best kisser?” In response, Sackhoff explained, “At the last con, I said my boyfriend, and then I said Tricia Helfer.” The audience loved it. She added, “No, I’ve never kissed Tricia. You kiss Trucco and you’re like…‘his [fiancée] is lucky.’ You kiss Jamie and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s different, Karrie’s lucky’, [and] you kiss James and you’re like ‘Who would have thought! Wow!’” Fans exiting the hall were overheard expressing satisfaction with what one man called “the newbie.”