10 Greatest Star Trek Convention Moments

A mere two years before Leonard Nimoy took his much-merited retirement from the convention circuit, and before the falling-out that preceded his death, he and William Shatner appeared together for a very memorable panel at DragonCon in 2009.

Nimoy set the tone with his hilarious, and perhaps only half-joking, introductory 'prepared speech,' asking Shatner, "Why is George Takei so angry at you?" Shatner and Takei's feud is as old as it is on-going, and Nimoy clearly delighted in gently poking the bear. Later, Shatner didn't miss an opportunity to rhyme the Sulu actor's surname with "decay," much to the audible shock of the audience and to Nimoy who simply shook his head.

In general, the panel was a mix of genuine laughter and camaraderie between the actors — riffing off each other to comic effect — and a carefully contained exasperation on Nimoy's part at some of his former colleague's more questionable comments. Either way, it was a delight to watch.

At times, Shatner showed he had a great sense of self-deprecating humour, but at others he openly mocked the crowd. Instead of ending with a fan question, Shatner also insisted on giving a hypothetical, embittered speech for the upcoming Emmys.

No doubt the funniest moment, which turned into a running gag, came when Nimoy knowingly asked Shatner, with a wry smile, "So, have you seen any good movies lately?" This was 2009, remember, and Shatner wasn't in THAT movie!