Fanderson Convention Saturday.

I cannot do this event justice in an E-mail so I will not try. Here is a few
early details to keep people on this list happy (I hope).

Marc Martin is enjoying his business trip.

Seven people from Shado-Egroups turned up for the photo but a few more were
also at the con.

I am sure that some members of this group had an informal lunch with Ed
Bishop.

Ed and Gabrielle had a interview in the afternoon and were very well
received. Peter Gordeno did not arrive until later.

A new 5 minute pilot for Captain Scarlet was shown twice with Ed and Francis
Mathews doing the voices again. I thought this was excellent and true to the
spirit of the original.

Managed to have a go with the new Thunderbirds game for the Colour Gameboy
available from the 1st December. Something for the Christmas list I think.

I am sure that we will get plenty more stories for other attendees later.
Due to the large amount of recording equipment I think this could be one of
the most documented conventions ever.

Hope this keeps a few people informed until we get some better reports
later.

Derek Eaton

[hidden email]

Thankyou for keeping us all up to date, with information about U.F.O.
It's great hearing about the new Thunderbirds etc. with the fantastic voice of
Captain Blue, by that wonderful actor Ed Bishop.
Is there anyway all fans could beg somebody to bring back a new version of
U.F.O,
with as many of the old actors as possible. I know there was talk about this
once, and
the idea was shelved .
I feel we were cheated by only having 26 U.F.O episodes, and for not seeing Ed
Bishop
becoming an even bigger star, that he is. That talented actor deserves to be
seen more.

derek.eaton wrote:

In message <[hidden email]>, [hidden email]
writes
Hear! Hear! Well said. In the recent Mr Thunderbirds, Ed Bishop stated
that it took him a long time to get over the demise of UFO. Man, I
never really go over it.

Maybe one day I will meet Mr Bishop, Mr Billington & Co (before we all
go to Heaven)...sigh.

--
Suzanne Sutherland
Woman of Little Faith
Has Faith in UFO

> I cannot do this event justice in an E-mail so I will not try. Here is a
few
> early details to keep people on this list happy (I hope).

Hmmm sops for the poor huh<g>
>
> Marc Martin is enjoying his business trip.
I am sure he is!
>
> Seven people from Shado-Egroups turned up for the photo but a few more
were
> also at the con.
>
> I am sure that some members of this group had an informal lunch with Ed
> Bishop.

GAH! Gulp trying to eat in the presence of His Bishopness! Don't know how
they could. The lucky so and sos!
>
> Ed and Gabrielle had a interview in the afternoon and were very well
> received. Peter Gordeno did not arrive until later.
>
> A new 5 minute pilot for Captain Scarlet was shown twice with Ed and
Francis
> Mathews doing the voices again. I thought this was excellent and true to
the
> spirit of the original.

Clap clap!

Sheila

Still UFO Crazy crazy crazy crrraaazzzzy!

----- Original Message -----
From: <[hidden email]>

<snip> I feel we were cheated by only having 26 U.F.O episodes, and for not
seeing >Ed Bishop becoming an even bigger star, that he is. That talented
actor >deserves to be seen more.

I think we all agree with you there Teresa!

Sheila

Still UFO Crazy crazy crazy crrraaazzzzy!

Anthony Appleyard wrote:
<snip>
(3) On the way back the M6 was closed westbound (or both ways) in
Birmingham
for some reason, and I was sent far out of my way along the M42 and M5,
right
around south Birmingham. I wish I had a spinner like in the stories: they
are
enclosed and dry and can land anywhere and can't be detoured by roadworks
etc.
<end snip>

Yeah, and it's got a big gun to melt all those damned Mercedes driver's
tyres who insist on cutting you up on the inside at 100+ mph.
Grant.


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I went to the convention at Coventry, both days and I slept in the hotel
that night. I live in Manchester. I wanted to go by train, but the timetable
enquiries office was unhelpful and the queue there was long, so I went on my
motorcycle. I was not helped by:-
(1) On the Saturday morning it pissed with rain all the way. Weatherman
speak with forked tongue.
(2) The Chester Road is closed both ways for 6 weeks between Mere and Over
Tabley (except in office hours) for allegedly urgent roadworks. On the way
back I did NOT obey police advice about detouts, but instead I found my own
short-cut detour through the country lanes around Knutsford.
(3) On the way back the M6 was closed westbound (or both ways) in Birmingham
for some reason, and I was sent far out of my way along the M42 and M5, right
around south Birmingham. I wish I had a spinner like in the stories: they are
enclosed and dry and can land anywhere and can't be detoured by roadworks etc.
(4) If there is one part of such a trip that I have got fed up of, it is the
endless job of crossing Staffordshire on the way back.

Gerry Anderson came, and his son, and Ed Bishop, and many others, including
Maya from Space:1999.
There was an amusing short skit on Space:1999, called "Space:1899"; Its
story was as Space:1999, but it was in the style of the early silent movies
before talkies came along.
UFO:1999 didn't get shown, due to lack of time. --------------------
There was a collection of Gerry Anderson songs and starts of videos in
various foreign languages including Japanese.
The German for "Thunderbirds" is not **Donnervo"gel as I expected, but
Feuervo"gel = Firebirds.
The French for "Fireball XL5" is Fuse'e XL5: according to my French
dictionary "fuse'e" means "fuse" as in explosive, or (a sort of?) rocket.
There was a BIG collection of Gerry Anderson original and reproduction
studio models including Paolo Malaguti's UFO alien helmet. Now that I have
seen it close up, I can see that the 3 black lines on each side of it
(although the black had mostly worn off), are raised ridges, and aliong the
back edge of each of those ridges seems to be a long line of small ventilation
slits for the actor to breathe; it had lost its inside padding. There was a
black-and-white photo of the woman and the 2 aliens on the roof; their helmet
faceplates were hinged open sideways (not upwards as in my Poser model of an
alien). There was Tarn and Creon etc heads from Space Precinct. Also a lot of
Thunderbirds and/or Captain Scarlet original or reproduction puppets and spare
heads. Also the orbiting city in Space Precinct. Also the red trilobite craft
in UFO, and 3 SHADO Mobiles each over a foot long.
The last item on the Sunday was a recently-made short with Maya in, and she
was broadcasting Moonbase Alpha's last message to Earth in hope that Earth
would somehow pick it up. In the story, Moonbase Alpha's life-support systels
were getting beyond further repair due to age and wear and tear. The Moon was
passing a settlable planet but would only be in Eagle range of it for 6 days.
They named it Terra Alpha and moved there, and that left them without long-
range radio, due (I suppose) to limits on that they could take with them in
the time available, and so that message it would be the last message that the
Alphans could send to Earth.
There was a program of events in two rooms at once, and often I had to
choose which to miss.
They showed in full (one hour) a Space Police story which had never before
been shown full; it was the story where a cribe boss tries to kill Altor's
president.
They showed the Thunderbirds story "Atlantic Inferno".
They showed a copy of the Space:1999 episode "Ring around the Moon", which a
fan had recently improved with CGI (= computer-generated images) and renamed
"The Eyes of Triton".
They showed a bit of Fireball XL5 matter that had been colorized.
The Saturday ended with a disco that lasted into the small hours; I am
teetotal and went to bed about 11 pm. There ware several in custome: a SHADO
Moonbase shiny ?spacesuit-undersuit; a Fireball XL5 uniform; a Space Precinct
uniform; a Moonbase Alpha uniform (I at first thought it was Star Trek); at
least 2 aliens from Space:1999. After all that, next morning (or m-YAWN-ing?)
the early events were rather thinly attended, but the room got full later.

If another convention is arranged there, they should say this: When
approaching along the M6 from the west/north, the best exit is not the A444
junction (or illegitimately at the Corley services), but at the junction for
the NEC and Birmingham Airport. Then follow the signs for "W and S Coventry".
That will take you onto the Meriden Bypass. Follow that until you find a sharp
left-back turn to Allesley. That leads into what used to be the main road when
it ran through Allesley village. The hotel is on that road on the left (=
south) side. A bit further on the other side of that road is a small general
store.

Around Birmingham Airport, keep an eye on your road map and keep it up to
date. The road layout there is like the insides of a UFO's motor.

The costumes and models etc at the convention seemed to stick strictly to
Gerry Anderson: I saw no sign of anything based on Star Trek, Star Wars,
Greys, etc. I mention Greys because they seem to figure largely in what I have
seen on TV of the annual UFO-ism festival at Roswell in New Mexico in USA.

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony Appleyard [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2000 11:26
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [SHADO] Re: Fanderson Convention Saturday.

>They showed in full (one hour) a Space Police story which had never before
>been shown full; it was the story where a cribe boss tries to kill Altor's
>president.

It has, as it was premiered at the 1987 World Science Fiction convention in
Brighton to over 400 people at each of it's showings. These audience figures
were the biggest audiences for a World Con since Gene Roddenberry showed a
pilot of something called 'Star Trek' in the 1960s!

The con was wonderful and my strongest memory is of dancing to 'Saturday
Night Fever' in the costume ball with Peter Gordeno leading in the John
Travolta role. God, but that man can move... He, Ed and Alan Perry all took
to the dance floor later for 'rock around the clock'!

I will send more of my thoughts later this week, but I have got a hangover
and am suffering badly from a lack of sleep.

Nick: all that I can think to say is that it was a 'bloody good con'! Many
many thanks to all who ran it.

Cheers

Katie Bleathman

<snip>
> The con was wonderful and my strongest memory is of dancing to 'Saturday
> Night Fever' in the costume ball with Peter Gordeno leading in the John
> Travolta role. God, but that man can move... He, Ed and Alan Perry all
took
> to the dance floor later for 'rock around the clock'!

Well I have read all the reports on the cins so far and been totally
astounded and amused at the stories and information set out. But the above
statement about Ed and co dancing to Rock Around the Clock totally floored
me! What a mental picture that conjures up! I really am sorry to have not
been able to have been there to see that!
>
> I will send more of my thoughts later this week, but I have got a hangover
> and am suffering badly from a lack of sleep.

I'll bet you are!

Sheila

Still UFO Crazy crazy crazy crrraaazzzzy!