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I don't intend to dwell on it, but the day did not start well. I'd already heard a couple of different versions of what exactly the plan for the day was, though both had seemed to agree on people in costume being let in after twelve. So, as a last precaution I rang the museum in the morning at about 10 O'clock. The conversation went something like:
Me: Is it true you're letting in people in costume?
Them: Yes, the first hundred in costume will be let in.
Me: What, only the first hundred?
Oh gawd, well, it hasn't been advertised widely has it?
Them: It's been on the TV
Me: Heck! I'll have to rush then and make sure I get there before twelve…Bye!
Them: Bye.
Me: It is twelve?
Them: Silence.
So I rushed, getting there at about one minute to twelve. I even did some of my spots on the tube. I arrived at the door to the Trek exhibit only to be told by a security guard that it was over (apparently the press launch was 10-12), and I wouldn't have been let in without a costume anyway. Had to do a little educating on that last point… He obviously was not a Trek expert.
I decided to go in to the main museum anyway, had a moan at the desk, decided I was not in the mood after all, decided to go hang over the partition and see if I could spot anybody from the audition… ended up talking to someone, who let me and another guy (in full uniform) in. They still had a few in who had come in during the launch, so they had room for a couple more…
First of all we had someone give us a quick general tour round. I had pictured it as being separate rooms for the Bridge etc, and really looking like the actual rooms would. It's not. It's more like a normal museum exhibit with disconnected banks of consoles, display cases, screens etc. Like I say, not as I had pictured, but I soon got over that, because it is pretty fabulous. It was also very dark, but apparently they are going to change that!
I missed half the tour, because I kept spotting familiar faces! There were a couple from my audition group, plus 'Kira' (otherwise know as Emily) was there. It was wonderful to see them, though of course it was also a little awkward being reminded that I hadn't got the job…
The exhibits range from stuff for the Trek fanatics through to displays that are pretty pure demonstrations of scientific principles with only a thin connection to the show. At the Trek end there's costumes and props from all the shows. Some of the tricorders etc are surprisingly rough, but apparently Marina Sirtis did confirm that they are the real thing. They have good ones for best/close-ups, and rough general use ones, and the 'tacky' ones are the latter. An example of the other end of the scale would be the demonstration of equal and opposing forces. For that you sit in a little car on a rail and propel yourself backward by throwing bean bags. I had a go, hardly moved, and had one of the staff give me a helping push. Now, they'd actually not had time to try out all the exhibits themselves, so I dared him to have a go. He did just as badly as me! Ha!
Me and the other late attendee, who I'll call 'X', (a really nice bloke, in spite of being an Admiral), were then left to work back through the exhibit at our own pace.
I think we were just taking our blood pressure and looking at our heart rates in 'Sickbay' when I looked up and saw an entourage approaching. I'm not really an Ali McBeal fan, but I've watched a few episodes recently, and I found myself playing the 'Billy Girl' music in my head. It wasn't really that bad, honest, but you get the picture… Sure enough, in the middle of the group was Marina Sirtis. I just had time to say hello, and she (looking slightly startled) said hello back, and then the group had swept past without stopping, disappearing out of sight between the exhibits. She was stunningly beautiful, smaller than I expected, and I was also struck by how much she looked like the TNG Troi, rather than the Voyager version.
I turned round to X, in time to see him looking vaguely after them then turning back to the exhibit apparently uninterested.
Me: You do realise that was Marina Sirtis don't you?
Him: Oh! Was it!
Me: You twat!
Him: Well, I did sort of see her back…
We continued on, taking in what will undoubtedly be one of the most popular exhibits: the Transporter room. For this, you stand on a mock-up, and look at a screen that literally puts you 'in the picture' and beams you to various away team scenarios. The picture is pretty grainy, and your part in the away missions is pretty much waving your arms about, but it's still pure Trek fan fantasy… and kids will love it too. I also noted all the exhibit staff coming by with signed photos. It seems Marina was doing a private session for them. Big grins all round. I felt a little jealous, but kicked myself and reminded myself I had my ticket for Pages. A few more exhibits (measuring cosmic radiation… rockets propelled by air pressure…), then Marina walked past again, though both of us only saw her back this time. I think the entourage had reduced in size though.
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Finally, we worked back to the Bridge area, which is at the exhibit entrance. There's a big screen with panels facing it, then others opposite. One of those is the voice recognition demo. You teach it to recognise how you say the names of TNG characters by saying them a few times, then get the chance to open their 'files' by voice command. Apparently you can teach it to recognise anything you want as your weird way of saying the name, so if for example you want to refer to (insert name) as (insert rude description), then that's what you say! I was ready for a coffee and a sandwich by then, so I was getting a bit impatient with it, and kept getting a 'bad training' message during the teaching process.
Me: Troi… Troi…. grrr! Bloomin thing!… Troi…
At which point Marina Sirtis walks by. Talk about timing… Me and X cracked up, and she gave me a big grin. Hope she didn't think we were saying anything terrible about her! It was a nice smile anyway.
I had a go at a couple of the panels in front of the viewscreen. If you are successful on them, you get to play your choice of clip on the screen. They're quite complicated. My favourite was one where you had to find a planet to beam the crew to in an emergency: it involved comparing gas spectrographs to find a planet with a breathable atmosphere. Extra tension was added by the fact that Data keeps popping up and saying things like 'your crew are now losing consciousness… and I'm going to waste time telling you about it in my emotionless android voice…'. When I came to the exhibit, I really didn't expect to find myself yelling at Data to 'Get the f… off my screen'!
Outside the exhibit they have a merchandise area, where the prices seem lower than I've seen them elsewhere: for example, £6 for a Janeway mug. All together it took about 2 hours to go round. I thought there was a good mix of content: lots of stuff for the Trek fans, and for their family members as well. Even if you stripped out all the Trek trappings, you'd still be left with lots to see and do. Best of both worlds in fact.
Me and X had a look at a couple of floors in the Welcome Wing as well: also worth seeing. The museum really is a place you cannot see in one day. I've now had three recent visits, and I've not seen half of it. X also well and truly wound me up by throwing his voice and convincing me an exhibit was talking to me (not impossible in that museum…). Well, I did call him a twat earlier so I guess I deserved it.
Nothing to add, except, I probably will visit the Federation Science exhibit again, even if I have to pay to get in. It really is very good. They still had a few bugs, and things not brought in yet… and a lot of it deserves a second go. And while I didn't get to see much of Marina, apparently she did hang out with the staff, and they seemed to like her. It sounds like she was pretty down to earth. I'm looking forward to Pages!
An afternote: Next day I was watching Voyager, saw someone use a LCARS interface and thought 'I've used one of them'. Very cool! What's even cooler is that apparently Marina pointed out that they were more realistic than she was used to because the ones on the sets don't actually work….
On to my Marina Sirtis at Pages report...
...Or for more on the exhibit: Star Trek: Federation Science. At the Science Museum, London.
This page is part of
The Borg
Grail. If you have not already done so, please visit the
Main Page for news and an introduction to my
site.
Site Guide / Consideration
is Puerile / The Hall of Innocence /
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All original material, unless otherwise credited, is Copyright © 2000 Rowan Green. All rights reserved.
