Sunday, March 31, 2013

William Shatner in Dallas


Geek is chic, it’s hip to be square and William Shatner is no longer telling Star Trek fans that “It’s just a TV show.”

Shatner, a.k.a. the original Captain Kirk, appeared at the Dallas Convention Center yesterday to help promote the Texas Lottery’s new Star Trek-themed $3 scratch-off game.

Organizers were hoping to break the Guinness World Record for most people dressed as Star Trek characters in one place. Only 561 Kirks,Spocks, Klingons, and other Trekkers showed up, falling well short of the 1,063 mark set last year in London, but the fact that the Texas Lottery would team with Star Trek is emblematic of our culture’s obsession with the classic TV show.

The people gathered were disappointed in the turnout, but they still had a great time.

“Everyone has been so in the spirit of Star Trek,” Guinness adjudicator Michael Empiric told the Dallas Morning News. “And that’s what I look for in a record attempt. But sometimes, the best laid plans just involve getting people in the door.”

Shatner, who will return to the Metroplex May 18-19 for Dallas Comic Con, weighed in as well: “They’re having fun," he said. "That’s why they go to conventions…I used to think they came to see the actors. Then I came to realize they came to see each other.”

They also came to see a living legend.

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