Going to a fan convention often feels like attending an enormous family reunion with a bunch of wacky cousins who you don’t know well, but who like all the same things you do. Salt Lake Comic Con took that concept one step farther this year by centering several celebrity panels around family relationships — both real and fictional. Famous Hollywood siblings John and Joan Cusack teamed up for a panel, but they weren’t the only duo who could boast family ties.

Friday’s first panel featured Gates McFadden and Wil Wheaton, who rose to science-fiction stardom playing Dr. Beverly Crusher and her son Wesley on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Though the two had appeared at conventions countless times during since TNG premiered in 1987, they couldn’t think of another time the two had been on a panel alone. The familial significance of the panel did not go unnoticed by Wheaton, who led McFadden to her seat, asking, “Where do you want to sit, space mom?”

For most of the panel, the actors discussed the impact of TNG on themselves personally and on popular culture as a whole. Wheaton said, “Most of you guys say you grew up with this show, but I literally grew up with this show.”

Wheaton was 14 when he started filming Star Trek, and already a huge fan of the original series, which starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

“It was me and LeVar (Burton)” who were gigantic Star Trek fans, Wheaton said.

“And (Michael) Dorn,” McFadden added.

“Really? Dorn? How did I not know that until now?” Wheaton asked.

McFadden responded with a typical mom answer: “You were too young for me to tell you everything.”

McFadden, on the other hand, was not versed in the Star Trek universe. “I didn’t know what warp speed was, I didn’t know what a Klingon was. I hadn’t even seen the original series,” she admitted, to horrified gasps from the audience.

Wheaton may have grown up on the show, but McFadden shared some pivotal moments of her life with Star Trek as well. She was pregnant with her son Jack during the fourth season, and he spent his first few years around the set, even learning to walk on the bridge. In fact, Jack felt so at home on the Enterprise that when McFadden brought him onto set for “Star Trek: Generations,” in which the Enterprise crashes, he was horrified. McFadden thought the fake fires burning on set were cool, but Jack burst into tears.

Although Wheaton and McFadden were well aware of the impact of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” on themselves and their families, it took them awhile to understand what the show meant to other people. “Sometimes, we who were on Star Trek kind of forget what Star Trek means to people. And I didn’t realize that you watched it every afternoon. It’s like I was there, but the TV doesn’t work two ways,” Wheaton said.

“I was actually afraid of fans for a long time, because I was stalked when I was younger, so I was always afraid to go into places with a lot of people — now I’m old and I don’t worry about it — I didn’t really understand the impact. And I have learned so much in the last ten years, by meeting fans,” McFadden said.

She talked about meeting families with multiple generations of Star Trek fans, and people who decided to choose a career in the sciences because of the show.

“It’s a fantastic thing,” she said.

Another rather unique thing the two share is that there has never been a Funko Pop doll made for them. The company makes dolls resembling thousands of characters from across the pop culture spectrum, and some characters even get multiple looks. Dr. Crusher and her son, however, have never been depicted in Funko Pop form. After a hobbyist heard, he created McFadden her own personal Dr. Crusher doll. He has made several, which she auctions off to support various causes.

McFadden brought one of her Dr. Crusher dolls to the panel, and held an impromptu auction during the panel. After promising that both she and Wheaton would sign it, the doll sold to a fan for $700, every cent of which she swore would go to earthquake relief in Mexico.