Fanderson Con Reports?

So, I think by now the Fanderson convention is officially over,
so I'm wondering if anyone here went to it either yesterday
or today, and if so can comment on what they saw/heard?

Marc

--- In SHADO@y..., Marc Martin <marc@u...> wrote:
> So, I think by now the Fanderson convention is officially over,
> so I'm wondering if anyone here went to it either yesterday
> or today, and if so can comment on what they saw/heard?

I was there both days. I have just come back, on my motorcycle.
There were many guests there. Gito Santata (THE alien) couldn't come.
We saw the new short CGI Captain Scarlet story.

There were some bits and starts of foreign dubbings of Gerry Anderson
matter, some with English subtitles to explain added foreign lyrics.
Some strange Japanese pronunciations, e.g. Sundaba_do_ (underline =
long vowel) for Thunderbirds and Kapten Ska_leto_ for Captain Scarlet.

Less exhibits than last year, I think.
The proceeds went to a diabetes charity.

Among the autcioned items were the original paintings for the stills
seen at the end of Captain Scarlet, e.g. him about to be bitten by a
huge cobra serpent, and him about to be run over by a tank, and him
falling from a skyscraper.

>I was there both days. I have just come back, on my motorcycle.
>There were many guests there. Gito Santata (THE alien) couldn't come.

How about the other UFO guests? Ed Bishop? Dolores Mantez? David
Lane? Did they have them being interviewed onstage? Any surprise
guests? Any episode commentaries? Any UFO models not at the last
convention?

Marc

--- In SHADO@y..., Marc Martin <marc@u...> wrote:
> How about the other UFO guests? Ed Bishop? Dolores Mantez? David
> Lane? Did they have them being interviewed onstage? Any surprise
> guests? Any episode commentaries? Any UFO models not at the last
> convention?

Ed Bishop and Gerry Anderson was there. Gerry had to leave early,
because Gerry gave another guest to the convention and that other
guest had an urgent personal family crisis on the Saturday and Gerry
had to give him a lift back home.

Guests scheduled included: Greyston Gould, David Lane, Alan Perry,
John Hough, some studio model makers, Arthur Provis, Marcus Hearn,
actors Zienia Merson and Shane Rimmer, Tony Atkins, Terry Curtis.

There were episode commentaries of Thunderbirds "Attack of the
Alligators" and Space 1999 "The Last Sunset" (where the Moon
temporarily gets an atmosphere and an Eagle is caught in a
thunderstorm over the Taurus Mountains).

There was no theater-type stage as such. In one room there was a
permanent movie screen, whose image seemed to be back-projected.

There were showings of some trailer and promotion type matter whixh
had not been seen in public before.

I am sorry not to be more forthcoming, but it is after midnight here
by UK time and I had a long hard ride home after the convention ended.

As someone who was only there for one day I wasn't impressed about the way
it had been organised this time. I had to make the decision between meeting
the actors and technicians or wathcing the interviews on the main stage.
Chosing the former, I spent all day in queues, and only saw about 20 minutes
of one interview with Gerry Anderson.

I hope they change the autograph system again; having been to a celebrity
meal as well this weekend, I think that this is probably the way to do it,
and allow a free-for-all after the meal - it works better than you think.


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--- In SHADO@y..., "Gareth Bevan" <man_in_a_suitcase@h...> wrote:
> ... I had to make the decision between meeting the actors and
> technicians or wathcing the interviews on the main stage ...

They were running two shows at once: screenings in one room, and
screenings and talks in the big room, and I had to keep choosing
which to miss.

> I hope they change the autograph system again; ...

For each autograph after the first for each member, they charged a
sum of money that doubled each time.

Another bit of Japanese-ery was: Bigurato for BIGRAT in Joe 90.

No thanks for the weather, having to motorcycle in rain. In the
previous week we had 2 fine days, and I suspect that those 2 days
were our summer for the year. The weather here has been nearly as
cold as when I was in Iceland the previous weekend (abominable cold
gale on Reykjavik waterfront).

Some complained thar there were no evening events on the sunday. But
attendance to them would have been poor; before the last afternoon
events were finished people were leaking away to get home for work
the next day. In a questionnaire that they handed out, one question
was "Would I prefer this event to be held on a bank holiday?".

Paolo Malagutti's UFO alien helmet was not there, as far as I saw.
There was a Space 1999 spacesuit with helmet there, and some uniforms
and costume heads from Space Precinct.

Hotel trouble: I was put in the Stoneleigh Manor Hotel for the
saturday night, as the Allesley Hotel was full. And:-
(1) The Stoneleigh Manor Hotel had "Quality Hotel" emblazoned all
over its front, but not its own name. Confusing. Luckily I stopped at
that "Quality Hotel" to ask where the Stoneleigh Manor Hotel was.
(2) In my room the heat was wet too hot and I got sweaty in the night
and so I had to sleep on top of my bed, not in it. In the morning I
badly needed a hot shower or a bath, and there was no hot water. When
I complained at reception that morning they said that my room was in
the end of the building furthest from their water heater and their
hot water pump was inadequate.

For people bringing heavy lugggage: The Allesley Hotel's left luggage
store is one big unmanned lockable room which (anyone who allegedly
has luggage) can get the key to. There are no individual lockers.

"anthonyappleyard" wrote:

> In the morning I badly needed a hot shower or a bath, and there
> was no hot water. When I complained at reception that morning they
> said that my room was in the end of the building furthest from
> their water heater and their hot water pump was inadequate.

I bet you said: "oh, that's alright then" ;)

>They were running two shows at once: screenings in one room, and
>screenings and talks in the big room, and I had to keep choosing
>which to miss.
>
> > I hope they change the autograph system again; ...
>
>For each autograph after the first for each member, they charged a
>sum of money that doubled each time.

Yes, I had blocked out the charges for the autographs from my mind!; you're
right in saying that the cost doubled with each autograph you asked for. So,
although the first one was free, two cost £5, three cost £10, four cost £20,
five cost £40... and ten cost £1280!

Another result of this was that people were forced to chose between the 'big
names'; whilst Gerry Anderson was talking, David Graham was signing in the
other room, so it was impossible to do both. Secondly, it was embarrassing
for some of the guests, in that they only had a queue of about half a dozen
people to get their autographs. I certainly made a point of seeing everyone,
and felt hugely embarrassed for some of the people there. I'm sure at the
last event everyone would have been asked equally.

I'm sure that people who were there for two days could plan their weekend
better, but for those with prior commitments on one of the days it made it
an unpleasant experience, really. Perhaps there needs to be some thought put
into alternative convention ideas, such as having a gala dinner in the
evening, where people can get autographs, or ensuring that the signin
sessions do not clash with the on stage interviews or commentaries.

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"anthonyappleyard" wrote:
> In the morning I badly needed a hot shower or a bath, and there
> was no hot water. When I complained at reception that morning they
> said that my room was in the end of the building furthest from
> their water heater and their hot water pump was inadequate.

--- In SHADO@y..., James Gibbon <james.gibbon@v...> wrote:
> I bet you said: "oh, that's alright then" ;)

I told them that they needed a more powerful pump or wider diameter
hot water pipes. Next time I will check the water as soon as I get
into my room.

Gerry Anderson managed to get back to the event part way through the
Sunday.

They showed Space:1899, which was a skit, being bits of Space:1999
put into the style of an early silent movie.

They showed various oddments including an alternate ending for the
first Space:1999 episode, where the Alphans seemed to manage to get
back to Earth at once. Also, the Thunderbirds introduction sequence
dubbed in modern Greek.

In the Italian UFO episode "Distruggete Base Luna", it may have been
a mass arrival of UFO's, rather than a mass attack of UFO's. The
adjective used was "massico".

On each side of the screen was a big many-colored glow panel which
they couldn't or wouldn't switch off during screenings. It caused me
some eye-strain.

These pieces of artwork were NOT auctioned at the Fanderson con. They were
brought along by some one from the Christies auction house for attendees to
to look at. they are being auctioned later in the year.

Katie

[hidden email]
www.graham-bleathman.co.uk

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gareth Bevan [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 16:30
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [SHADO] Re: Fanderson Con Reports?
>
> I'm sure that people who were there for two days could plan their weekend
> better, but for those with prior commitments on one of the days it made it
> an unpleasant experience, really. Perhaps there needs to be some thought
put
> into alternative convention ideas, such as having a gala dinner in the
> evening, where people can get autographs, or ensuring that the signin
> sessions do not clash with the on stage interviews or commentaries.

What would the people who don't want to go to the gala dinner do?

I don't collect autographs or want to have dinner with 'celebrities', so
would find the concept of a gala dinner very boring. There would also be the
problem of asking attendees to pay more for the dinner. I know of only one
con in the UK were that works well. (I am sorry but I don't consider
Autograhphica to be a convention. It is a big autograph session.)

I thought the concept of having the separate autograph sessions worked very
well and was a great improvement on last year. Getting autograph sessions
for so many guests was always going to create conflicts.

Yes, you do have to make a choice, but that is what going to a fully
programmed con is all about. Not everyone wants to do the same. You chose to
get autographs. I know some who didn't want autographs but spent more or
less the entire weekend in the main hall.

For example, I would probably upset several people on this list if I
expressed my thoughts about spending time having a coffee with Ed Bishop,
because for some people that would be the highlight of the con! :-)

Katie

[hidden email]
www.graham-bleathman.co.uk

CONTENTS DELETED

At 20:05 20/05/02 -0400, you wrote:

>In a message dated 5/20/02 11:38:55 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
>[hidden email] writes:
>
><< For example, I would probably upset several people on this list if I
> expressed my thoughts about spending time having a coffee with Ed Bishop,
> because for some people that would be the highlight of the con! :-)
>
>Express away!!!!!!!!!!

Or, if you want to be silly about it, espresso away. ;)

----
MAPPY

--- In SHADO@y..., Marc Martin <marc@u...> wrote:
> So, I think by now the Fanderson convention is officially over,
> so I'm wondering if anyone here went to it either yesterday
> or today, and if so can comment on what they saw/heard?
>
> Marc

Hi, Marc.

I'm going to offer a shamless plug here as I and Michael Wolff gave a
presentation at the show and officially announced that in addition to
our "Supercar" and "Fireball XL5" comics, we will be doing a "UFO"
comic, to be written by SHADO's own Anthony Taylor (with a special 0
issue written by Yuctar!)

Below is a link to the cover mock-up I did for the presentation.

We're just back to Ashford, Kent where we'll be staying until our
return to the US on the 22nd.

I'm sure AT will want to give a full report when he gets back as he
had many interesting conversations with folks like Ed Bishop (who has
a copy of the proposal for review) and Mike Trim, who we have
approached about possibly designing some new craft for series.

Later,

Kez Wilson

http://www.miscmayhemprods.com/ufo_comic

Amelia wrote;

<<I'm glad that... Andy... describe(s) it (the
'Fanderson' convention) in a positive light.>>

But then, I always was the eternal optimist <g>.

Andy


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CONTENTS DELETED

Amelia wrote:

<<Please excuse Paul, he's from Barcelona.>>

If it's any consolation to Paul, the rooms - not to
mention the service - in the Allesley Hotel were at
least equally shocking. (I was actually reminded of
the 'Fawlty Towers' episode 'Waldorf Salad' :< ...
hope this isn't too far OT).

But then... sleeping six to a room in a shanty town
shack would have been an acceptable price to pay for
attending the convention (just a pity the main hall
was hot enough to grow tomatoes in :^ ).

Andy


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Anthony wrote:

<<Hotel trouble: I was put in the Stoneleigh Manor Hotel for the
saturday night, as the Allesley Hotel was full. And:-
(1) The Stoneleigh Manor Hotel had "Quality Hotel" emblazoned all
over its front, but not its own name. Confusing. Luckily I stopped at
that "Quality Hotel" to ask where the Stoneleigh Manor Hotel was.
(2) In my room the heat was wet too hot and I got sweaty in the night
and so I had to sleep on top of my bed, not in it. In the morning I
badly needed a hot shower or a bath, and there was no hot water. When
I complained at reception that morning they said that my room was in
the end of the building furthest from their water heater and their
hot water pump was inadequate.>>

Look at it this way: it could have been Farty Owls.

Sorry.

Paul

>I don't collect autographs or want to have dinner with 'celebrities', so
>would find the concept of a gala dinner very boring. There would also be
>the
>problem of asking attendees to pay more for the dinner. I know of only one
>con in the UK were that works well. (I am sorry but I don't consider
>Autograhphica to be a convention. It is a big autograph session.)

Who said anyhing about Autographica? I was talking about a charitable group
called The Heritage Foundation who, on Sunday, held a dinner in honour of
the first three Doctor Whos.

It would be a great help if Fanderson could publish the itinerary prior to
the convention, as then people could plan. With the schedule handed out
first thing in the morning it made it very difficult to plan anything,
especially given that the schedule eventually bore little resemblance to the
one originally published.

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Hi, Charles and I are back from Coventry! We returned late this afternoon and
are exhausted. We did have an excellent time but I agree with some of the other
posted comments regarding the overlap of main hall guest interviews and the
autograph sessions. (you had to decide which was more important to you). I have
to say the number of guests and attendees was impressive! The group photo
session provided an opportunity that we may never see again. (all of those great
guests together in one place for a photo) They had all of the guests present at
that time of the day up on stage to pose for a group photo. Ample time was given
to take photos and I hope that some of us were able to get great shots of that.
I haven't checked my pics yet.

I would say that the interview with Francis Matthews and Ed Bishop was the
highlight for me....they played off each other so beautifully and they
definitely enjoyed being up there on stage together. They did beat on Americans
a bit ( a few comments about our general rudeness) but all is forgiven since it
*could* very well be true. The end of the interview when Francis Matthews tries
to plant a kiss right on Ed Bishop was hilarious and it was so spontaneous I
doubt that anyone obtained a still pic of that...plenty of people were
videotaping at the time though. I was not able to tape that interview because
my video camera stinks and I have plans to trash it. As before, if anyone can
provide me with a copy of the tape I will be happy to transcribe it (in a timely
fashion this time).

That is it for now. I plan to do a full report tomorrow and review my digital
pics to see if any are worth posting. For now I need lots of sleep.
Lorraine