Chris Kocher

ckocher@gannett.com | @RealChrisKocher

Earlier this month, “Star Trek” celebrated 50 years since Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and the intrepid crew of the starship Enterprise first appeared on American television screens.

Even the cancellation of the original series after only three seasons couldn’t stop “Trek” and its optimistic spirit. The franchise currently stands at 13 films (including the most recent “Star Trek Beyond” this summer), four additional TV series (with a fifth one coming out in 2017) and millions of devoted fans worldwide.

One of the memorable characters from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” was Leeta, an attractive Bajoran casino worker at Quark’s Bar tasked to relieve travelers of their money through a roulette-style game called dabo.

And although the character wasn’t the main focus of the frontier outpost’s space saga, it proved to be a pivotal role for actress Chase Masterson, who played Leeta over five of the seven seasons that “Deep Space Nine” aired.

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This weekend, Masterson will be the guest of honor at the fourth annual RoberCon, the science fiction / media convention held at Roberson Museum and Science Center in Binghamton. She’ll participate in interview panels, sign autographs, pose for photos with fans and discuss the Pop Culture Hero Coalition, an anti-bullying group she founded that uses heroes onscreen to inspire heroism in real life.

Since “Deep Space Nine” ended in 1999, Masterson has gravitated toward a number of sci-fi roles, including one in the first Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, “Terminal Invasion” (opposite “Evil Dead” actor Bruce Campbell) and leads in "Manticore" for Syfy and “Creature Unknown” for STARZ. She also starred in the award-winning sci-fi noir “Yesterday Was a Lie” and the critically acclaimed short “R.U.R.: Genesis,” currently in development as a feature film. Most recently, she was a guest star on CW’s “The Flash.”

Among her current projects are her lead role as an intergalactic assassin in Big Finish Productions’ audio series “Vienna” (a spinoff of Big Finish’s “Doctor Who” range) as well as Big Finish’s “Survivors” series, which was nominated in the BBC Audio Drama Awards.

Still, it’s through “Star Trek” that most fans know her best, and this year has been especially busy.

“It’s phenomenal to be part of the 50th anniversary,” she said. “This show has such a legacy and is such a powerful thing to be a part of. I relish my time with the other actors and the fans of the show, largely because of the history of it and how much has gone on through ‘Star Trek’ and because of ‘Star Trek.’ It certainly has enveloped 50 years of reinventing itself and making a difference in the world.”

In an interview earlier this month, Masterson talked about interacting with “Star Trek” fans, her role on “Deep Space Nine” and why she started the Pop Culture Hero Coalition.

QUESTION: You’re attending many conventions and events this year to celebrate the anniversary. What have been some of your favorite experiences this year so far?

MASTERSON: People often ask me about my favorite moments from “Star Trek,” and I think they usually are referring to stuff onscreen — but my very, very favorite moments have happened offscreen, even just recently.

For instance, last week at a convention in Cherry Hill [N.J.], there were two soldiers who came up who had fought in the Gulf War. They told me that when they would come back from a mission, if there was a new episode of “Deep Space Nine” that they hadn’t seen yet — because the show was running live at the time — they would drop everything and watch the show before they’d even change their clothes or take a shower. They said that it reminded them about what was important, that peace was possible. They said it reminded them of where they came from and that they would be going home.

To hear that the show held that kind of meaning for people and was so powerful not just in terms of its story and intrigue and entertainment, but to make a difference in the lives of people who were themselves in dangerous situations, it really means a lot. The show had such strong themes about war and peace and family. “Star Trek” has always had transcendent themes, but “Deep Space Nine” particularly had stories that took a risk and really made a difference, especially during its time.

Q: I imagine that getting to meet fans like that is one of the special parts of being part of “Star Trek” and other roles you’ve done over the years.

MASTERSON: Yes, people do open up to us. If you think about it, it’s because we’re in their living rooms. They often feel like they know us because they’ve invited us into their homes. There’s an intimacy to television when you’re all sitting around in your pajamas and you watch a show together. You really do feel like it’s closer to you than a lot of films when you see them in the theater. It’s a really cool relationship we have with our audience.

Q: For your role as Leeta on “Deep Space Nine,” did you realize at first that it would be more than a one-time character?

MASTERSON: I didn’t know. I actually found out that I was going to do a second episode when the wardrobe department called me!

They wrote the role of Leeta for me. I had auditioned originally for another role, and I got down to the final two but I didn’t get it.

Neither Max [Grodénchik, who played Rom] nor I were under contract for the entire time we were on the show. They could have killed us off at any time — but they didn’t, and that made it nicer in a sense.

Q: Even though she was a recurring character, the writers seemed to have in making her evolve and grow every time you saw her on an episode, which isn’t the case for every role like that.

MASTERSON: No, it’s an amazing honor. I’m really grateful.

Q: Why do you think Leeta — and you as the actress who plays her — have become so popular with fans?

MASTERSON: Leeta had a storyline that was very “Star Trek.” She loved the guy who was only pretty on the inside. She stood up for what was important in the Ferengi union strike [at Quark’s Bar in the episode “Bar Association”]. She cared about things, and you didn’t necessarily expect that.

Originally I think she was brought on as eye candy, but then she grew to stand up for doing the right thing for other people, caring enough to see who someone is without being put off by something that isn’t physically pretty. She had the depth and the courage to love somebody that other people negated, and that’s a very “Star Trek” theme.

Q: You’ve had many roles over the years. What have been some of your other favorites?

MASTERSON: I really love doing “Vienna,” which is a spinoff from the “Doctor Who” Big Finish audio adventures. I did a couple of episodes opposite two original Doctors, and the role I did opposite Sylvester McCoy went over extremely well — I played his nemesis. It sold really well, we broke the internet the day it came out, and they said, “Chase, would you like your own show?” “Yeah, I would like my own ‘Doctor Who’ spinoff — thank you!”

It’s been an amazing experience. I play the title role, and we’re going into season 4. What I love about it is that Big Finish tells great stories, and the stories in “Vienna” are extremely powerful for several reasons. One, they’re good science fiction. Because it’s only audio, we can tell high-concept science fiction stories without spending $150 million like they’d have to be told on film. “Vienna” is in the “Doctor Who” universe, so we’re traveling through time and space, and we get to tell these stories for an affordable price.

Vienna is an impossibly glamorous mercenary assassin with a heart of gold who always lands on the side of good. You wonder: How did she get to be in this horrible job where she kills people for a living? Then you find out she was a child soldier when she was younger and raised in a very difficult way. When she grows up, she’s hired as an assassin — but if a bad guy hires her to take out a good guy, she’ll turn it around and take out the bad guy instead. She’s got a very keen sense of justice.

She also has a lot of fun. She lives on her street smarts — on her instincts — so it’s really neat to see a strong woman character who’s so intelligent doing the right thing in an irreverent way. Vienna is also very funny in that cheeky British way, because Big Finish is a British company, so you get a lot of rollicking fun with these stories. I often say that Vienna is like if “La Femme Nikita” and Elaine from “Seinfeld” had a baby. You have an assassin who’s doing her job, but she’s also kind of awkward and trying to common-sense her way through life. It’s pretty fun stuff.

Q: What inspired you to found the Pop Culture Hero Coalition?

MASTERSON: I see the huge need that we’re all waking up to — the fact that social justice is such a key issue. Any kind of oppression on any level is the same kind as any other. Kindergarten bullying is the same as workplace bullying, corporate bullying, terrorism and even war. It’s all the same concept on different levels with different levels of violence or different levels of injustice.

Why not take those concepts of justice that we know through “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” Batman, Superman and other great pop-culture stories, and put them to work with this audience to make justice happen in real life? Why not use those stories to change the world?

Pop culture has the biggest audience of any kind of entertainment and it also has an international appeal. It just makes sense to me. I see the injustice happening in the world today and I want to make a difference.

Q: How can average fans help the coalition in its mission?

MASTERSON: We are a nonprofit, so we need funding. We’re still all volunteers, and when we get to a point where we can hire people, we will get infinitely more done. If anyone is able to support that work financially through our website, it will make a huge difference — and it’s all tax deductible. We’re growing this work, and we want to grow it more.

'Star Trek' star to host anti-bullying program

Also, if anyone reading this is in education, stay tuned — within the next several months, we’ll be devising an official curriculum that can be duplicated in schools. You can send us an email through our website and request that. And then I’ll tell more at the convention!

Follow Chris Kocher on Twitter: @RealChrisKocher.

Also at RoberCon

In addition to guest of honor Chase Masterson, RoberCon will offer a variety of activities this weekend for geeks of all ages.

Discussion panels

This year’s convention will feature nearly 50 fan-led discussion panels, a 60 percent increase over last year. Topics will include “Star Trek,” “Doctor Who,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The X-Files,” “Star Wars,” “Game of Thrones,” comic-book films, “Welcome to Night Vale,” “The Walking Dead” and David Bowie’s influence on science fiction. Check robercon.com to see the full list and schedule.

(Note that doors open at 9:30 a.m. this year and panels start at 10.)

Costume contest

RoberCon attendees will see and wear plenty of cool costumes all weekend, but the convention’s costume contest will be held on Sunday afternoon. Categories this year will be youths, novices and experts, with three prize packages in each category that will feature books, collectibles, T-shirts, gift certificates and more.

This year, each category will compete separately to speed up the process. Look on the website for full rules and schedule.

Gaming

A separate area for video games and tabletop gaming will be offered in the carriage house behind the museum. Admission there is an extra $5 per admission badge.

Among the video game competitions will be Super Smash Bros., Call of Duty Black Ops 3, Madden NFL 17 and NBA 2K17.

Tabletop games will include Arkham Horror, Marvel Saga, Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, Dark Refuge, Jupiter Knights, Uncharted Worlds, Time Shredders, Call of Cthulhu, Pirates Cove, Dread and Pokémon.

Vendors and fan groups

More than 40 vendors will sell everything from comic books and jewelry to artwork, stuffed toys and collectible figurines.

Also, 17 fan groups will also be on hand, such as the 501st Legion - Garrison Excelsior, a “Star Wars” costume group; Empirical Paranormal; Kingdoms of Novitas, a player-driven LARP community; the Society for Creative Anachronism; and the USS Serling, a Binghamton-based “Star Trek” fan club.

Kids’ activities

Various youth-focused activities — such as make-and-take crafts — will keep even the youngest geeks amused at Robercon.

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IF YOU GO

•What: RoberCon science fiction / media convention

•Where: Roberson Museum and Science Center, 30 Front St., Binghamton

•When: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Saturday (panel schedule starts at 10 a.m.)

•Tickets: $16 for both days ($10 for Roberson or and children 12 and under); $10 for single-day badge on Saturday or Sunday ($7 for Roberson members, Visions Federal Credit Union members and children 12 and under). Access to gaming in the carriage house behind the museum is an additional $5.

•Parking: Convention attendees can park for free at NYSEG Stadium, with a shuttle available to Roberson.

•More information: robercon.com