The First Annual Galactic Diversity & Inclusion Convention kicked off with this incredible Welcome Panel!
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00:30She's kidding everybody. She's not going. Oh, she's going.
00:40Once again, everybody, that was Penny Johnson.
00:46She's going. All right.
00:50Okay, next, from the sci-fi series Killjoys, the absolutely amazing, fabulous, and the only person who you can truly call a warlord drag queen, Tom Allison!
01:10And now, from the Expanse, we have the one, the only, he is there, right? Yes, Jacob Mundell!
01:32Maybe he's not there. Yay, yay.
01:44Hang on, hang on, hang on. If I introduced you specifically for every incredible show you're on, we would be here all day.
01:58He knows, right?
02:04And now, from Star Trek, the next generation, the woman who was seriously my first crush on television, I still...
02:26The amazing Denise Crosby!
02:42I keep trying to steal her away from her husband, and I keep failing. I'm going to keep working on it, though.
02:52Well, I see how that crush worked out.
03:00Clearly thought I was a boy, I guess.
03:04It's okay, it's okay. I'll work with that. I can work with that.
03:11Wow, this is fantastic. I have lived to see this day come.
03:21Yeah, now more than ever. Thank God we're not in Florida.
03:32So let's make this a joyful expression of love and kindness and acceptance, and I'm happy to be together with you guys for this weekend.
03:46So, please, thank you.
03:55Yes, yes, please. All right. Now, from a little show called Star Trek Deep Space Nine, please welcome the non-visitors!
04:10Once again, Patty Johnson!
04:23She wasn't kidding, she did have another show.
04:31And from 24... Oh no, she's already here. She's already here.
04:38And now... Oh, Expanse came back.
04:41All right, from the Expanse, Tiffany Manel!
04:51And now, from a little show, a little ship that finally found its way home, Star Trek Voyager!
05:03We have Mr. Robert Polo!
05:11We have Mr. Gary Long!
05:19And later on this weekend, we will have Mr. Tim Ross, so let's hear it for Tim as well!
05:28And now, from the show that...
05:32It's almost a little ship!
05:37I was going to say the ship that never found its way home.
05:44That's Jon Billingsley. If you talk to him any way other than that, he has zero respect for you.
05:52So, from Star Trek Enterprise, that guy, Mr. Jon Billingsley!
06:04The one and only, Mr. Connor Trenier!
06:11Trip did not die, that's all I'm going to say. Trip did not die.
06:15Oh my god, it's Doug and Tiffany!
06:22Wow, this is... That's everybody, right? Yes!
06:28Can we all just take a moment and look at this group of people?
06:34No, not you, look that way.
06:37You're in the group.
06:40I'm in the group!
06:45But this amazing group of people, you have spent years inspiring us,
06:53letting us know that we exist, that we matter,
06:59and that we are, not to be too cheesy, we are loved.
07:04And a lot of us learned that from these guys.
07:08So let's hear it!
07:14We have an incredible weekend planned with all sorts of different things.
07:29This convention, you are going to be talking about this convention, for good reasons, for a very long time.
07:36You will notice the chairs set up a little differently.
07:42Oh my god!
07:48When did you get up?
07:51You're about to be eviscerated by Martok.
07:56I would consider that in mind.
08:00Please!
08:03I'll need the microphone, because it takes about 25 minutes.
08:08It all began with an audition for John O'Brien.
08:15My favorite Klingon, J.G. Hertzler!
08:24Which is actually, see, I did it on purpose.
08:29I never mind. Bob O'Reilly, I'm your favorite.
08:32Yes, yes. He knows, he knows.
08:36The first crush I ever had.
08:44The last crush I ever had.
08:50How did that work out for you?
08:53Okay, it's totally appropriate that I completely forgot about my best friend over here,
08:59because it leads into, what I was saying, a unique experience with activities such as
09:07batleths for beginners, a stage combat class.
09:11Are you kidding me?
09:13You can learn how to fight with a batleth taught by two chancellors of the Klingon Empire.
09:22Where else, friends, where else is that happening?
09:26I don't know how to sue Safeway and it doesn't give her proof.
09:31You guys go ahead.
09:34Angel.
09:37And there are so many of what we're calling the actor away missions that will be happening over the weekend.
09:44Thank y'all. Don't take too long.
09:48So love, integration, togetherness, joy.
09:54Take this in, really take it in. This is special.
09:57The inaugural.
10:02I was told there'd be snacks.
10:12I just heard from Tim Russ, apparently he had a large bowl of chili four hours before he boarded the plane,
10:19so the plane had an unscheduled landing in Cleveland.
10:23But he will be here in time, first thing tomorrow.
10:30Hey, guys.
10:35I was wondering, I was wondering around town yesterday and I found out the derivation of the name of this town,
10:40which is from Greek.
10:42Brotherly love.
10:43Felis Adolphos.
10:45Which means brotherly love.
10:47Couldn't be nicer.
10:52Well, it's awfully convenient to be in the town you're in, isn't it?
10:55It's a thrill to be here.
10:57I do love this town. I've been quite some time since I've been here and it's kind of weird, though.
11:03I don't know how you keep it so clean.
11:06Like something's going on here in the Philippines.
11:09Anyway, again, thrilled to be here and looking forward to the weekend and seeing you all.
11:13Thank you.
11:17Hello, everybody.
11:22Okay, so it's now common knowledge it's out that Harry Kim was supposed to be on Picard,
11:29but then it fell through.
11:31Yes, so no Captain Kim appearance, which is a real bummer,
11:37which really then drives home that one statement that you learned from Voyager,
11:41maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey.
11:45Thank you.
11:52I didn't think I'd have to speak.
11:55Well, hi, everyone. I'm supposed to be here because I'm a dead ass.
11:59What a thrill to be amongst people who are here for one wonderful reason,
12:04to celebrate everyone being included.
12:07In a moment when not everyone is being included.
12:11So from my warlord drag queen self to all of you, welcome and let's have some fun this weekend.
12:21Never, never hand the phone over to a stage full of actors.
12:29Come by my table because I want to know you all.
12:42What is so great about this community and this community, all of us together,
12:49is with all the differences people have and all the talk about it,
12:54we found a frequency and it works.
12:58And we can reach each other on it and that is precious shit.
13:12I didn't want to have to go after you.
13:17I just think Gaze In Space and all you guys are making history this weekend
13:23with the first convention of this kind to celebrate diversity and inclusion.
13:28So pat yourselves all on the back and come and say hello to us all.
13:42Okay, you, you, you, love is love and obviously we're all on the same page.
13:50Thank God, thank the universe, we found each other.
13:54I'm so grateful to be here, it gives me goosebumps to be here.
14:02We met each other, how amazing is that?
14:05Another job, we went away, but this is an amazing community.
14:10Thank you.
14:20Y'all check it out.
14:22I've had to explain a lot of things to my now seven-year-old over the past year and a half.
14:32And not all of it has been great.
14:34And a lot of it has been very difficult trying to explain the Russian invasion.
14:42Trying to explain politics.
14:45And what I'm very proud of when I told him I was coming to do this
14:48is I get to document and photograph and have great conversations with him
14:53about the community that I'm here to participate and be with.
14:58And that makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
15:01So thank you all.
15:05Thank you for listening, thank you for changing the way the system works.
15:09And it's not over for us.
15:23Echo everything everybody said, and this just hit me just now.
15:27I started a school called Do Better University.
15:31It started off as a joke, but then I also realized it's so much bigger than that.
15:37And two things I'll say.
15:39One, with this being the first one, let's think of the next five, right?
15:44We've got to build the momentum.
15:46We've got to show people this is where they want to be.
15:48And then two, this is the choir speaking to the choir of Do Better, right?
15:52I want to get it to the point where we're not labeling us for them.
15:57Them motherfuckers need to figure out how to get this right.
16:12Hey everybody.
16:14I've only been fortunate enough to be on one season of one sci-fi show.
16:21I love sci-fi. I've grown up doing sci-fi.
16:23And in sci-fi I said I would love to just be a part of this fantastic world.
16:27I'd love to sit in a spaceship, boop and beep buttons, tell truth through a fantastical story.
16:34And what's crazy for me is being a member of the LGBT community, being a member of the disabled community,
16:39I get to be in a convention where we're the hosts.
16:43Everyone's welcome, but we're hosting this one.
16:46I love that.
16:47And why I consider myself even more fortunate is that I got to be a part of sci-fi,
16:51I get to celebrate with sci-fi, and I grew up watching these people's shows.
17:05Wynn.
17:08Thank you all so much for coming by.
17:10Come by my table. I'd love to meet you and I'm pretty sure I have the least expensive autographs.
17:14I'm going back.
17:20Thank you all so much.