WELCOME TO THE ZOCALO CONVENTION REPORTS

Hey Sandra, finally got home from Agamemcon, and thought I would send you a review, or notes from the con, or something that you could share with everyone. Now, you may want to get some reviews from other people as well, since I'm staff for Aggie, and was so busy with my duties that I ended seeing very little of the actual con, but then again, that gives me a different perspective to share. Anyhow, I'll try and keep this brief and entertaining, and then if you want something clarified, just shout it out.

Aside from Babylon 5 stuff this year, we also had a mini con for Prey and for Space: Above and Beyond. This gave the convention a very strange feel, as I only saw the Prey fans at those events, but I don't seem to remember seeing too many of them at the parties or dances, or anything. Of course, since they were all new faces to me, I could be very wrong about this. The SAAB crew were more familiar, because we have always had some representation from that show at our con. They throw good room parties, they always come in uniform, and they always have props, lots of props.

The Babylon 5 fans were out in groups too. Most notably were the chatters from the old comlink from the early days, now hanging out at Groucho's Yahoo site. They supplied many bodies to the volunteer ranks, thank you very much, and had some great parties, including the ones before the convention even started. They also had an active computer at the con, for purposes of providing con reports live on site, and they rented a VCR and showed episodes of B5 and Crusade, and were just way cool to hang with. The other notable group of fans were from the Crusade mailing lists, especially the Galactic-Core (David Allan Brooks list) and Technomages (Peter Woodward list). Not only did the ladies from these list help volunteer for various con duties, they also supplied the manpower for the Crusade for a Cure convention table and auction. Much kudos go out to both groups for all their help in and all their enthusiasm for the show, the convention, and the Babylon 5 community.

As for panels, I can't tell you anything about any of the celebrity panels because I didn't see any of them. I was on two panels, one called Think like a warrior, Fight like a girl, which was quite popular it seems. We discussed women in movies and films who use martial arts, including weaponry, and how this is helping to empower women in society now. There was even a little demo done of forms and some board breaking, which always impresses the heck out of people. Of course, I have the bruises to prove that we did it, and someone out there took pictures, so I look forward to seeing what I look like doing the Koryo in street clothes and not my normal, white Dobok. The other panel I was on was called So Johnny can surf the internet, the future of education. This sort of turned into a 'how computers are making children hate reading' sort of panel at times, but the questions in the audience kept us moving in other directions too. I tried to bring in my special education knowledge of Assistive Technologies, and how that will be one of the areas that future technology will be most influential on. It was an informative discussion, and it made me think more about the direction of education now.

After hours events were a bit tame at first, as our dance on Friday was not heavily attended, in favor of room parties, of which, there were at least 3 good ones going on. Saturday had the masquerade, of which I particpated, and won Best in class for my Female Master Controller from Planet X costume. Yup, that's right, I was an alien from the Godzilla movies, complete with ray gun and antennae on my head. We then converted the auditorium into a dance again and then people moved up to the room parties. Because I am part of the organizing committee for Crusade for a Cure, I did not go into any other parties, excpet for the Dragonslayers party, which was next door. Hence, I can not comment on the FBI party that was on another floor. I heard it was big, but later in the evening, our party became THE event to be at. All I will say about our party was that it was a pajama party, there was finger nail polish and make overs available, and it was the guys who took advantage of that fact. There ws some serious partying going on in this room, and once pictures start surfacing from this event, I will let you all know where they are and go into more detail on why this party will be talked about for years to come.

Because I didn't see any panels, and I was working the con suite most of the time, I also didn't get to talk with too many of the stars. I did make an effort to say hello to David and Peter from Crusade, Jerry Doyle and Tracy Scoggins were great, and Wayne Alexander was nice as ever. But the highlight for me was meeting Alexandra Tyddings, who plays Aprhodite on Xena and Hercules. I like those shows, but not being able to see the panels or get much free time, I didn't really put anyone into my schedule of things to see and do. It was more a 'if I happen to be free and in the area at the time, I'll stop by and see them' sort of con for me. Anyhow, I decided that I wanted to get a picture of Alexandra and say hello, since I haven't seen her yet at any of the Herc/Xena cons I have gone to. Turns out she's super sweet, smart, just started studying Tae Kwon Do, the martial art I do, and likes to do the Charlie's Angels pose (I got to take my pic with her and her friend in that pose). Now, why is Alexandra's frien important? Well, Deb is a make up artist from New Zealand who just happens to be working on the Lord of the Rings project filming down there. WAY COOL! My favorite guest for the weekend though, was Greg Keyes. Why? Because he knows how to have fun at a con, and how to really let go at a party. When you see the pictures from the above referenced party, you will understand my meaning on this.

The con wound down with the charity auction, which was for Crusade for a Cure. We raised somewhere around $1000, which will shortly be winging it's way to Search for a Cure, the organization we are supporting with our fundraising efforts. We had also had a raffle earlier on in the day, which Tracy, Jerry and Wayne helped us do the drawing for. We gave away some weekend passes to Crusade for a Cure and to the Galaxy Ball, and there were some very happy people leaving the con knowing they were going to get to come to another event later on in the year. You can find info for both of these events at http://www.ulyssesfoundation.org/c4ac/ and http://www.robertbeltran.com/galaxyball/. After all the charity events were done, the load out began. Things ran very smoothly, and a food run was done to Zankou Chicken, a local eatery of Armenian styled chicken that has become a bit of an addiction for many of the regular con attendees here. The dead dog party followed, and after the fruit sculpture finally spit out the apple and pulled the carrots from her shirt, a massage chain started. After a few hours, the party moved upstairs, at which point, I crashed big time. I have no idea when people finally dragged themselves off to bed, I just didn't have the stamina for the final night.

So, that is the story of the long weekend known as Agamemcon. I plan to do it again in September at Crusade for a Cure, and I hope that some of you will decide that not only is the cause noble, but that there might be some fun attached as well.

--

Pam

Best of Both Worlds (BOBW) in Sydney, is run by Adele and Brian Carr, 2-3 times annually. It¹s a rather daunting task on numerous levels, not the least of which involves flying in guest speakers from other countries, accommodating them and acting as host and hostess during their stay in Sydney, whilst simultaneously organizing the convention itself. The population of Australia is small and with numerous competitive sci fi conventions offered in Sydney during the first half of 2000, numbers for this con were low. The upside, of course, was a friendly and intimate atmosphere second to none.

The guest speakers for this BOBW8, March 10-12 were Richard Biggs, Robin Atkin Downes and Stephen Austin (Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador).

Technically, the convention began on Friday night with a cocktail party. I say technically because in the past, after the conventions, Adele and Brian treat their wonderfully dedicated helpers and guest speakers to a Sydney Harbor cruise. This by way of thanks to the helpers, who pay for convention tickets, but rarely manage to see all the guest speaker¹s talk. It¹s a delightful way for the assistants to spend quality time with the actors, while the guests in turn enjoy one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. Due to Rick Biggs¹ flight connections to the UK, the post-con Monday cruise was brought forward to Friday.

I have an indelible image of looking through the cocktail lounge to the far side of the foyer, and seeing four bright red faces; Arthur and Wayne, two of Adele and Brian¹s assistants, Brian himself and Stephen Austin (Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador) shining like beacons in the night. Those red faces in the photos are the result of sunburn, not over-indulgence!

Probably the most unusual feature of BOBW conventions, is the easy, friendly, one-on-one access to guest speakers. Adele and Brian made a point of taking Rick, Robin and his lady Valerie, and Stephen, from group to group, introducing everyone. How on earth Adele remembers everyone¹s names is an act of sheer intellectual magic, but it¹s part of what makes these conventions unique. You¹re instantly adopted into Adele¹s wide family of sci fi friends. No one is ever left to feel alone in a crowd of strangers, and everyone has the opportunity to strike up a conversation with the guest speakers. The cocktail party soon took on the comfortable feel of old friends, even though many had never met before, setting the tone for the entire weekend convention.

I had to admire Robin Atkin Downes and his lady, Valerie Morehouse. They¹d arrived in Australia on Thursday, did the Harbor Cruise Friday, walked back through the city to the hotel, and then attended the cocktail party a few hours later. They were bound to be jet lagged, but made sure everyone who wanted to chat had the opportunity to do so.

Replete with wine and hors d¹oeuvres, at around 10.30pm, a handful of us retired to the downstairs bar for coffee. Stephen Austin gamely joined in, graciously laughing at our very bad jokes and rewarding us with hilarious anecdotes.

I should mention here that although Stephen Austin was not one of the principal cast, he was a regular for four years as the Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador and occasionally, a human. Stephen provided a wonderful insight into the B5 world. More to the point, in addition to being an actor, Stephen is a stand up comedian and thus, a superb entertainer who recants B5 tales with a unique flare.

On Saturday, BOBW took over the first floor (second floor to Americans) of the hotel. Although BOBW helpers were in the dealer¹s room to sell photos for the afternoon autograph sessions, Rick, Robin and Stephen made a point of being there more or less continuously throughout both days, autographing and chatting with anyone who dropped by. I have no idea how it¹s done elsewhere and certainly the small size of the Australian conventions as a whole allows for an easygoing atmosphere, but I have never heard of conventions where the actors were so readily accessible, all weekend. Anyone taking a casual peek in the dealer¹s room would see Rick Biggs and Robin Atkin Downes before anyone else. Many attendees double take at that, then looked again. Yep, they were real, not cardboard props, with Rick flashing a big smile and waving them in to come say hello. Just as people absorbed the shock of seeing *Dr, Franklin* and *Byron* casually sitting near the entrance, playing on the carpeted floor a few feet away, or walking around, leash in hand, was the (albeit sans suit) Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador with a Labrador puppy. (The puppy belonged to the Guide Dogs for the Blind, an Australian charity organisation). One of the attendees commented that it was more like being invited into a living room decorated with sci fi memorabilia and three real, live, very approachable, B5 personalities than any con they¹d ever attended, anywhere. That atmosphere continued throughout the entire weekend. Certainly security guards were around, but they were unobtrusive, friendly and helpful, there to prevent problems, not to prevent people enjoying themselves.

Ten a.m. and the first speaker was Stephen Austin, actor ­ and comedian. He spent an hour regaling us with some sidesplitting anecdotes, a great introduction to the rest of the day. Certainly, the big attraction of conventions is the primary actors and JMS. However, if you¹re ever ambivalent about going to a con, and see Stephen listed, or if you¹re unsure whether to attend one of his panels or not, don¹t hesitate; he¹s a *lot* of fun and a drawcard in his own right. I¹m not going to repeat anecdotes and practical jokes here, but over the two days, he gave us a unique perspective into the B5 world through the eyes (and tongue through the eyehole ofŠ) the Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador and other aliens. Next time you see him, ask him about the time Bruce and Jerry¹s cars were the accidentally spray painted, or Richard Bigg¹s stuntman aspirations.. "and the practical jokes between he and Claudia, or why it was important to retain a verrry good relationship with the puppeteer who manipulated the servomotors in his suit".!

Listening to Stephen talk about the days he attended Star Trek conventions as a fan, and now finding himself on the other side of the fence, and his reaction to seeing people like Michael York working on the set, puts a wonderful perspective on things. It also highlights the genuinely humble nature of these guys and their appreciation for ongoing conventions and fandom.

Between Stephen¹s talk and lunch, a couple of tapes of Babylon Park were shown. I¹ve never seen South Park so the humor was lost on me, but those who knew it said they were a very clever, very funny medley of the two shows. Both tapes were later auctioned off for charity.

With Robin¹s talk scheduled immediately after lunch, rather than take a break to eat, he was happy to sit and chat to people. I offered to organize sandwiches for he and his lady, Valerie, Brian and Adele, then returned to my room to make a call. Now I would have preferred this incident to fade into oblivion, but it didn¹t, so, to cut a boring story short, an hour and a half later, the lift mechanics jimmied open the doors and released me. As the duty manager groveled *are you alright¹s?*, apologizing for me missing Robin¹s talk, getting stuck in their crummy 20 year old lift etc. etc., I demanded the mechanic remain in the hotel until I finally reached the first floor.

Being around these guys the past few days, a friendly banter had been established, so the *last* person I needed to see when the lift doors opened was the resident comic, Stephen Austin. Stephen had accumulated enough Sydney mishaps to keep him going at the Comedy Shop for weeks. He also had me pegged, so when the lift doors opened and he saw me, he curled up over himself and laughed his head off.

Adele came rushing across, full of concern. I glared at Stephen and, gathering what little dignity I could still muster, went and quietly apologized to Valerie for her and Robin¹s lunches being late, then caught the last five minutes of Robin¹s talk. Valerie is a very sweet lady who waved it off and said it was fine, for they had, in fact, eaten.

Five minutes later, Rick Biggs walked by with a mischievous, but slightly concerned expression on his face and says, *Hey, I heard.* *Not one word from you!* I interrupted, *Not. One. Word!* In the background, Stephen is still sniggering. A few minutes after Robin finished, he and Valerie came striding back, concern written all over their faces. Someone must have told them what happened and they asked me if I was really okay. At least *some* people showed concern for my welfare I mean, do not, repeat do *not* draw attention to yourself at these cons as you will find things like a photo of self pinned to an out of service lift with a sign saying *Sonny Memorial Lift* tagged to it - much to the consternation of the hotel manager. And an autographed photo from a certain actor (who shall not be named) with *To Sonny ­ stay away from lifts*

Assorted items were auctioned for charity, including the premier edition of Starlog signed waaaay back when by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (okay, I succumbed and now have to figure what I¹m gonna do with it, ). At the finish of the auction, Richard Biggs came up and began with a huge thank you to Adele and Brian.

Every actor, Richard said, is grateful to the organizers of sci fi conventions. However when the B5 actors get together and talk about the various cons, one name stands as exceptional, Adele Carr, for she has taken them all into her heart. I had the same impression from Bruce last year and Rick reconfirmed it in the minds of everyone there. So, he brought her up on stage and presented her with a gift that she could choose to accept, or have auctioned. Adele, chose to have it auctioned.

The gift was a metal bound, *very* limited edition TNT B5 daily planner. Because of their affection for Adele, Rick had managed to get most of the cast, including Andreas, to sign the photos featured throughout. He further offered to get the remaining photos signed, then send the planner back to the successful bidder.

Bids reached $1,000 and yes, I was on the verge. Then Arthur, one of Adele¹s wonderful assistants sitting beside me, bid $1,100. Arthur had been very kind to me throughout and I would not bid against him. It was a real pleasure to see the look on his face when he won.

Rick Biggs is a very animated presenter and has some great anecdotes, not just about B5, but his life and his family. For an Australian audience who have virtually no internet contact with the B5 world, Rick also related his classic story of the differences between soap opera fans and sci fi fans. I¹ve heard this before, but seeing it acted out by Rick was a treat. Again, because of the small numbers, it was easy for him to get involved with the audience, even insisting on answering someone¹s cell phone when it rang (Unfortunately the person opted to leave ). He explained how the offer to do a part in Crusade came through on his honeymoon, and the slightly weird deja vu, yet totally different feel, working on the Crusade set. Just as an aside to that, I had asked Rick earlier how the advent of so many television stations affected him as an actor. His reply was that it actually opened up a larger range of opportunities, however, because the industry is so advertising driven, the number of quality television shows, and the budget for shows, is certainly dropping at a time when overall costs are skyrocketing. The net result is actors being paid much less. But rather than being down about it, Rick¹s attitude is, well, he likes to work and better a little bit of something than a whole lot of nothing. At any one time, 90% of actor¹s guild members are unemployed - a pretty frightening statistic. We, as an audience, get to see the hype and glamour, but reality is, of course, a great deal less glamorous.

Over two days of talks we learned about his work since B5, on Any Day Now and an (unfortunately failed) casting for a new sci fi pilot called (I think) Day One, to be shot in Sydney at Fox studios. Rick¹s hair has a tinge of gray throughout. The reason? Because the role required an older male! With any luck the other two actors might not work out by the time the show is ready to shoot (hey, it happened on B5!) and fingers and toes crossed, we may yet see Rick in another sci fi role.

Following Rick¹s talk was the autograph session. Since the guys had made themselves so readily available all day, it was a very easy and rapid session, giving everyone plenty of time to prepare for the banquet that night.

At eight p.m., the guest speakers arrived and we were treated to a great meal. However, prior to this, we were treated to an unexpected delight. Valerie Morehouse, Robin¹s lady, is a beautiful, petite brunette who is not only an actress, but also superb opera singer. As an overture to dinner, Valerie sang for us an aria.

You did not have to be a lover of opera to appreciate her magnificent voice. I think stunned and awed pretty much summed up the look on everyone¹s faces by the end. Truly, an impressive and all too brief performance.

After dinner, Rick Biggs immediately hit the dance floor and more or less stayed there for the next few hours. Don¹t be mistaken in thinking this was a trendy disco setting. It was just a bunch of ordinary, everyday people having a good time. And Rick made a point of involving * everyone* in the fun, whether they were twenty - or sixty. He also got up to a few other pranks, much to the ladies¹ stunned delight, doing something that certainly rated a first for a sci fi convention.

Sunday followed the same pattern as the day before, except Robin was first up that morning, so I took the stairs. I had the feeling from the audience they were surprised at Robin¹s easygoing, approachable manner. The Pak¹ Ma¹ Ra Ambassador was so alien, no one had any pre-conceptions about Stephen Austin. Dr. Franklin¹s personality was well rounded enough to see a little of Rick Biggs come through (the lighthearted side!) and thus it was no real surprised to see a vibrant, entertaining personality in real life ­ and Rick had been to a BOBW convention before. But with Byron, we only ever saw an angst filled, driven, pacifist martyr. It was fascinating to me to watch the changing expressions on people¹s faces as they realized Robin is a normal, everyday, straightforward sort of guy.

Robin explained how JMS gave him very little to go on, not wanting to give away what was planned for Byron¹s character, other than the obvious allusion to Lord Byron. To interpret and fill out Byron¹s character, Robin developed a background, including the idea that Byron had been forced to undertake or witness some incredible wrongdoing. When Robin discovered the nature of this relationship with Bester, he was gratified to learn his thoughts closely paralleled JMS¹s conceptualization.

Robin related some great anecdotes and insights, discussing his scenes with Lyta, especially the *you are my willow* and the love scene, with easygoing humor. Especially weird was staring at Lyta¹s black eyes, red-rimmed with tears running down her face (her reaction to the uncomfortable contact lenses) and fifty extras staring at them through this very thin curtain. Very, *very* weird!

He loved working with Walter Koenig, specifically commenting on the scene where Bester runs his hand over Byron¹s shoulder. Walter used a very soft, almost foppish, wet fish sort of caress which, Robin said, was absolutely perfect for eliciting a genuine expression of repugnance. As they have all said at different times, actors love to have something they can get their teeth into. For Robin, working off another good actor is a delight, for it draws out the best in him, like the surreal love scene with Lyta, or physical and mental abhorrence of Bester.

Stephen and Rick once again did one-hour sessions. Rick also pulled the winning tickets for a raffle. First and second prize winners were in the audience, and Rick telephoned the third prizewinner at home. With a little audience participation, he gave her something to talk about to friends for the next six months!

Again, because of the actor¹s accessibility during the day, autograph lines were short, giving everyone time to get ready for the final wrap party.

Very much like the cocktail party on Friday night, the real capstone was Rick and Robin treating us to a wonderful series of B5 cast member impersonations. With everyone now comfortably at ease rather than slightly awed at Rick, Robin, Stephen and Valerie¹s company, it was the perfect ending to a convention weekend long to be remembered by all who came.

Sonny

** For photos of the convention, visit http://www.webspin.org/bobw8/bobw8.htm.

VisionCon 2000 by Francesca Angelesco

Michael O'Hare was one of the main guests for this sci-fi/fantasy convention. Fans had the opportunity to meet Michael on both days at his scheduled morning autograph sessions and to attend his talks each day. (See report at http://www.crosswinds.net/~moh) On Saturday afternoon he thrilled fans with an unscheduled appearance at the Bab 5 Fan Club table to chat briefly and to pose for photos. The club had a large "Welcome Michael" banner above their table with photos of the actor.

Another Bab 5 actor attending Visioncon was Bob Krimmer who played Emperor Cartegia. Bob sat and signed autographs all day on Saturday and Sunday taking time to talk with each fan getting to know them and to pose for photos. One of the highlights of this convention was getting to know this very open and sincere actor.

On Saturday evening fans were treated to all five seasons of Blooper reels which Sandy had brought with her. It was worth attending the convention just to see these priceless film clips. Thank you Sandy!

Gallifrey

Panel Notes (Part 1)
by Cathy (kailin@ibm.net>

OK, I took notes on JMS's panel, and the format I followed was simply I'd write the queston being asked, and the answer given, and it is all numbered (32 questions, if I got everything). Anyhow, some of this is shortened from what the real discussion was like, as my notes are more like college notes (being the student that I am) and are therefore just highlights. Anyhow, enjoy the humor and wit that can be JMS, as it is not me adding to it. BTW, I was medicated on cold medicine, so I was a bit out of it at the beginning of the panel, but I got better as it went along. And right off the bat, there isn't a whole lot he is working on now that isn't already known.

1. Not a question. JMS says he is now enjoying the boomerang affect of B5. He created it, sent it out to be seen, and now it is entering the common lexicon. One Ph.D thesis on sig files sites B5 as a very big source of sig files. He also noted that a story in the New York Times (I think that was the newspaper quoted) discussed the loss of signal from the Mars Polar lander. It questioned what happened to it. Did it crash, did it fall off a cliff, was it taken by the Vorlons? Lot's of laughter when he said this.

2. JMS decided to try something new. He said that we could ask questions to various B5 characters, and he would answer in their voice, sans accents. The first question of this type was based on the Amazing Stories G'Kar and Lyta story, What did G'Kar think of Lyta and what did he find out about her? JMS and G'Kar answer that she's lost, on the inside, and doesn't realize the answer to her rage is inside as well (or something Zen like that).

3. What is the role of a writer? JMS- Sociopolitical issues should be pointed to, as well as entertainment value. He mentioned the CBS interview regarding what will happen in the next millenium, and how odd he thought it was that they thought he would know.

4. Will we see a resolution to Crusade, in any medium? JMS- that is a future question, he doesn't know, depends on fate.

5. Question to Rebo- What's his favorite film? "The Larabie Riots" a film about the riots on Mars. (remember, this is in character, there was also discussion about a fish of some sort, don't ask.).

6. To Mr. Bester - What do you want? "I want you in a concentration camp."

7. To Londo - What is your opinion on the TNT handling of B5 and Crusade? "on my world, we have such individuals, we execute them. When Vir asked me why this happens, I simply said 'they're human, that explains everything'."

8. When JMS was asked if he wanted to do a feature film - He would love to do one, but he wants to take time, wait for the right moment, with the right funding, take time to do it right, he wants it to be perfect, not rushed.

9. to Delenn - Can I get a job on Minbar as the Earth representative if Bush wins? Delenn diplomatically declined to comment on Earth politics.

10. Hypothetical question, Delenn asking Sheriden - Why didn't he ever mention the keeper on Londo. Sheriden anwers, if I tell, will it screw up the future as seen, when did the keeper show up, without these answers, would the knowledge have done good or harm?

11. What is the status of "World on Fire"? (the Chris Carter project that fell through). He will try and pitch it again this summer to other networks and the like.

12. What was Chris Carter's reaction to "The Strangers Down the Street"? he never mentioned it too him.

OK, I have to go to school now, so I will finish the rest later.
Kailin

Sci-Fi Cruise
Report by Janice Scott-Reeder (druid.gkar@thescifivine.com)

My cruise got off to an omnious start as I somehow walked right by my new room mate at Miami International Airport. We managed to get connected at the Howard Johnson's. I was so glad to see they were preparing for the next hurricane. They can sand bag the doors with the pillows and board up the windows with the mattress. Add no air conditioning in the restaurant and bar, and I almost passed out at dinner and breakfast. Carrie and Mark didn't make the Bon Voyage party (smart people), but Wendy Padbury and her husband, Simon, and John and Jenny Levene kept us entertained. We unofficially held the party in the lobby where the air was working. A couple drove all the way from Chicago to Miami just to see their favorite Dr. Who stars and then - drove right back! Now that's dedication! This is Wendy's last official appearance. After what I did to Simon, you'll probably not see him either, but more about that later. Getting boarded was an exercise in patience and finding the longest distance between two points. My only comment upon seeing the ship was that I thought it would be larger, but I've said that, a lot. An aircraft carrier, it wasn't. We really didn't all manage to meet up until the first dinner on the ship. For some reason the ship seated us at two small tables and one large table. Every dinner we rotated celebrities. We had one premeeting but with everyone still trying to get used to the maze they created in the ship, it took a while to get us all together.

Our first event was the Island tour and stingray swim on Grand Cayman Island. I won't discuss the tour except to say we now know where every hotel is on Grand Cayman Island, one house for sale and two landmarks, but we couldn't understand a word the tour guide was saying and English is his first language. But, we did manage to go to Hell in a bus, in more than one way.

We were dropped off at the Turtle farm, in the snack bar, which is where most tours end. We all thought it was a little evil to be serving turtle soup in the snack bar of a turtle farm. I guess if you don't perform, you get eaten, there. Finally we found the turtles and they even let us take them out and pose with them, the little ones that is. I proved my ability to catch turtles and hand them to people who really didn't want to touch them. Yes, even that early in cruise I was torturing Englishmen. If you don't know how to hold a turtle, they can really kick you. If you drop them, they drown you, out of spite. Aside from that, they are nice creatures. As usual with this tour, we had no time in the gift shop. I managed a few cards.

Finally we made it to the barge that was taking us to the sandbar. Skip the tour and go there right off! You must remember that the night before they had delivered a beach towel to our room and threatened to charge us $22.00 if we lost it. Everyone had been in their bathing suits, under their clothes, lugging this towel around day, except me. I wouldn't pay $22.00 for that towel new! Thus, I wrapped the towel around me, pinned it and wore it as a skirt. They were not amused. I told them I had never lost outerwear. I don't think they have caught that yet.

Once on the barge or whatever they were calling it, we had a quick lesson in what we could buy and where the snorkel equipment was. Then we started the long trek to the sandbar. They also assured us the rays were tame and didn't have teeth. If we fed them, they would be nice. Yeah, and it cures pimples, too. We anchored and everyone ran for the exit. We couldn't get Carrie and Wendy in the water. They stayed up on the boat and laughed at everyone else, taking pictures, probably for blackmail. Mark dove right in. One of the stingrays took a liking to him and promptly goosed him. That guy can jump! In all fairness, I spent a lot of time underwater, when I wasn't drowning from leaky equipment, and those rays have something unnatural for the guys. They never goose a woman. I won't say I'm making it a habit to torture Englishmen, but it is just so much darn fun! I don't know if Simon has forgiven me, but next time I say, "here!" you can bet he won't hold his hand out. I don't have a problem handling squid. I was just trying to be nice and give everyone one. Boy, John sure can swim backwards, fast! I learned to pick up the stingrays watching the guide. I chose slightly larger ones, like over three feet in diameter. I tried to hand one to John and he swam backwards, again. The English can swim forwards, can't they? Anyway, his wife, Jenny, petted it.

Finally the rays got even with me for teasing them with the food. One got me behind the knees and dropped me and its partner went over me, pinning me to the ocean floor. Without that essential $1.99 check valve even the cheapest snorkel has here, they almost drowned me. We made up later. I can't quite describe the feeling of having an animal almost as big as you are wrap its "wings" (they are disk shaped and all muscle) around your body and hold you for a moment, weightless. Their underside feels like sueded velvet. It is almost a completely spiritual and utterly sensual experience at once. It is beautiful ballet done weightless with sea angels. I can't wait to do it again, with better equipment so I don't drown. They can bite. They bit two people for no apparent reason. So, what was Carrie really doing? She was on the boat, laughing herself silly. It seems most everyone else was trying to get the ray's attention and as soon as the ray headed for them, they would scream and try to run. You don't run in salt water. Finally they made us leave by threatening to leave us. Now, we were dripping wet for the trip back. Once in town, Elsa wanted a rum cake for presents. We had seen a new bakery a block away and ran down to it because we thought they were loading the last launch. Once in the bakery, I discovered the free sample table. It was three and we ate really early that morning. I was starving. Around four samples later, I figured out I was getting a healthy dose of rum with my lunch and staggered back to the pier. Getting back to the ship was trip and a half. In the fine print, the very fine print, it had said to have a picture ID and your ship's ID. No one read that. They had stamped us with some invisible ink on the way out and we figured they would just check our hands. Fortunately I always carry my passport. I didn't realize they had such a terrible problem with illegal Cayman Island refugees. After that endless process, they rechecked our hands on the ship with a blacklight. I guess it's better than a gieger counter. Our next big outing was Chichen Itza. The first thing that happened was another ship broke down in our parking place or whatever you put ships in. You would think they had more than one spot, but no. We had to try to anchor and be ferried ashore. Unfortunately, the seas were very high and pushing the ship into a sandbar as they offloaded us into a Mexican ferry. I kept my mouth shut but I was thinking of every ferry boat accident in the world as they piled us in it, shoulder to shoulder. We made it to the pier. Carrie has a terrible phone habit we couldn't break her of. She has to check her answering machine at every port! She found a phone! Finally we found a bus and except for one extra person, the thirteen of us had the bus all to ourselves and that person will never travel with a science fiction tour again. It is a three hour trip each way over Mexican roads. Fortunately the bus had seat belts. Our tour guide was 3/4 Mayan and tried to teach us some Mayan history. It was nice to belong to an Ethic group that wasn't being blamed for the extinction of a civilization for once. How did the trip go? Well, all I can really print is....on the way back, the bus was strewn with clothing, the windows were all fogged up and the bus driver finally put an X or R rated video on to quiet us down. Mark thought it was G-rated but he is Dutch. No one came back in the same clothes they started with and I ended up in some Mexican's dress with no underwear. My room mate said she was so shocked that Mark had his hands all over my jacket with Carrie standing right there, but Elsa is from the Midwest. Suddenly, the guide announced it was two minutes to the pier, my how times flies when you are having fun, and we had to run through the bus trying to find our clothes. Since I was in the back of the bus, I had to gather everything from under the seats everyone missed and get Peter off the bus. It's a good thing I didn't have to get rough with him. My arms were full and I had my passport in my mouth with my cruise card. The guards kept looking at the picture ID's and us and back again. You know they were wondering what had happened to us, but they didn't ask. I was refusing to speak English and my mouth was full, anyway. John was trying to convince them he was a poor Mexican and wanted to be taken to England right away. Point to note: before teasing the security guards in Mexico, make sure they are unarmed. Our last day together was spent watching videos. Dan had assembled thirty six hours of video for us, but the cruise line had changed the rules about what could be played over the in ship system and we ended up with a few hours and a VCR. John showed us his award winning video and all I can say is, someone should hire that man as producer: now!!! Both John and Carrie have excellent singing voices. It was a really bad week for cameras so we are all sharing photos from the remaining working cameras and after all, we all got so close on the trip to Chichen Itza to see the pyramids, at least the guide said there were pyramids there.

One last note to Peter Woodward from the B-5 and Crusade fan contingency on the Cruise:
First you missed the hot tub party at the last con due to work. Now you missed a cruise with some of the best looking female fans around, going to Hell in the Cayman Islands, a really great swim with some very friendly wildlife (and the sting rays were nice, too.), and a really hot time in Mexico due to work. Zoe and I feel so bad about it, that we are thinking of chipping in and buying you a beeper. But, you'll have to get your own cell phone to call yourself, because we can't afford the kind of phone bills you'd run up while we are saving for the next cruise to Mexico. Well, it's almost happy hour and I need to stop at Denny's and pick up a Moon over My Hammy as bait before going to the pub and catching a new Englishman to torture, I mean date....I really meant date...Hey, come back here. Where did I put the tranquillizer to dip those darts in????

Janice Scott-Reeder

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
by Robert Elordieta (robe@i-o.net.au)

On Saturday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 24th there was a Babylon 5 Convention in Sydney, Australia. It was organized by Best of Both Worlds.

I had only 3 days off, so I drove up there. It took me 11 hours. I left on Saturday morning, which meant I only went to the convention on Sunday. I had a great time!

The convention was held at The Sebel of Sydney.

The guests of honour were Bruce Boxleitner (Captain/President Sheridan in Babylon 5), Majean Holden (Doctor Sarah Chambers in Crusade), Sandy Bruckner (Editor of The Zocalo, a fan newsletter for the US Official Babylon 5 fan club) and Richard Biggs (Doctor Stephen Franklin in Babylon 5). Richard couldn't make it in the end because his wife had a baby.

First up was Majean Holden. She showed a quick video of the movies and tv work she has done at the beginning and end of her talk. She was very nice and friendly. Fans asked about her work in Crusade and other work she has done in movies and tv. She is very good at martial arts and toting a gun. She is married and her husband comes from Perth, Western Australia. She loves SF movies like Dark City, The Matrix, The Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, etc. She loves Australia and would love to do a movie in Australia. She has written a script and wants to make it into a movie. In the future she wants to produce and direct. She wants to live in Australia.

Next up was Sandy Bruckner. She showed us the blooper reels of Babylon 5. They were really funny! There was a bit of swearing when the actor or actress messed up their lines! Does anyone remember the season 4 episode when Captain Sheridan was being tortured by President Clark's man, and he was restrained to the chair. Bruce started to imitate the main star in The Sling Blade. Also Jerry Doyle and Richard Biggs burst into the room and said druggie, druggie, druggie. There was one where JMS was on a stretcher being wheeled down to the psycho ward; Jeff Conaway kissing Claudia Christen on the cheek; Bill Mumy given a toy robot from the original Lost In Space saying Danger, Danger, Will Robinson; Londo and G'Kar doing an infomercial, selling the Book of G'Kar. After the blooper reels Sandy decided to do a Oprah segment where she would ask the audience questions and get their opinions. The questions she asked were which character changed the most in B5, what was our favourite episode of B5, what was our least favourite episode of B5. I told Sandy that War Without End Parts 1 and 2 was my favourite episode. Sandy also manages Michael O'Hare's fan club. One of her favourite movies is Raiders of the Lost Ark. She also runs a new web site called The Zocalo Today.

Next there was a talk from a person from the New South Wales Guide Dog Association, in Australia. She told us what they did and that they rely on the public for donations. They don't get government assistance.

We then had lunch. After lunch they showed the tv movie A Call To Arms while the guests of honour were signing autographs. The movie is great, great special effects. I got autographs from all of the guests, Bruce and Majean signed my photographs I bought. Majean even signed my Crusade t-shirt that I had bought.

After the screening of the movie there was an auction. They had stuff from Babylon 5, Star Trek, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, etc. There was some spirited biding at times. Some items were passed in because they didn't get to the reserve price.

Bruce was really nice when he decided to auction off his Babylon 5 jacket. It sold for $3 300 Australian. It was amazing how high that went. It was between Sandy Bruckner and a fan in the end. The fan eventually won. Bruce auctioned his B5 jacket for charity. The charity was the New South Wales Guide Dog Association, in Australia.

Lastly Bruce Boxleitner came on. He got a large applause. Fans asked about his role in space, Babylon 5, his SF book which he wrote. He did the Sling Blade imitation for the fans. I asked Bruce a question too. I said, "Claudia was in Melbourne in June and she described you as a cowboy, a man's man, All American, eats red meat, pro guns, how would you describe her?". He paused while the fans cheered and then answered my question. Bruce had nothing but praise to say about Claudia Christen.

We then had the closing ceremony where the guests of honour and organizers came on stage.

After that there was a BBQ event for people who had paid. It consisted of waiters going around with snack foods with fans helping themselves to the food. There was small hamburgers, chicken sausage rolls, pizza, fish, toasted ham sandwiches, etc. Fans and guests mingled and talked. I got my photo taken with Majean, then Sandy, and lastly with Bruce. It finished at 8:00pm. [you can see Robert with Marjean and Bruce over in the photo gallery!]

I left Sydney on Monday morning to go back home.

Regards,
Robert :-)

First off, Loscon was a blast. This was the 26th year for the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society to host this event, and it is always great fun. Aside from all the sci-fi stuff, there was a lot of peripheral things to do, which I want to make sure gets mentioned upfront so I don't forget. Loscon always hosts a blood drive and raised about 43 or so pints, which is great around holiday time. They also did a canned food drive at the party last night, and a toy drive as well. One unique thing they were doing was a paper crane campaign. This is the origami paper cranes, and the philosophy is that if you fold 1000 cranes, it will help promote world peace, or something like that. So, people could be seen folding paper cranes all weekend long.

On Friday, we were treated to Fiona Avery doing a reading. She doesn't have a lot of stuff in production at the moment, and didn't want to bore people by talking about old stuff, so she chose to do a reading. It was really funny, and we encouraged her to try and publish the story she read to us in some sort of serial format. She did have her three scripts for sale, and she was passing out info on http://www.sff.net, which publishes anthologies. She mentioned was currently working on a book now and is hoping to have it finished by January, so she can go onto something new.

There were lots of parties, and dancing, and ice cream for all on Friday night, and I made sure I hit it all. The evening was started with the ice cream social, a tradition on Friday nights at Loscon. They then started a dance, which lasted until about 2am. Since I am staff for Agamemcon, I had to spend a good deal of time at our party, but I did tour around the other parties as well. Our party theme was Mardi Gras, so during the day, I dressed up as a harlequin, which got lots of attention (it's a toss up as to whether it was the bells, the makeup or the mini-dress). For the actual party, I decided to class it up a bit and put on a nice, green lace dress and a feather mask. Again, this got lots of attention, but I figure it was the mask, people love masks, and this one has peacock feathers on it. We passed out beaded necklaces at our party and served hurricanes and gumbo, which went fast. A large massage party broke out on one of the beds, and then sort of spread throughout the room, which felt nice, I must add. We then decided to tour the other room parties, but not too many of them were very fun. The only decent party was a Centauri party that did not promote a convention or bid, it was just a party. They had games, such as "pin the attribute on Mollari" and "bomb the Narn Homeworld" and a "caption contest" on pictures of Mollari, Vir and others. The Centauri know how to party, and so their party, and our Agamemcon party, were THE places to be at Loscon on Friday.

After touring the parties for a while, we hit the dance downstairs, but it wasn't too terribly busy. We had fun for the time we were there, but it kept getting overrun by some of the teenagers that were staying at the hotel that night. A food run was definitely in order, and so we hit Jack'n'the Box. Didn't get to sleep until well after 2am that night.

Saturday was slow in the morning, so after working the Agamemcon table in the morning, I took a nap. I then got shanghaied into being on a panel. It was called "why don't you fight like a girl?" and was not what you think. The panel consisted of several women who do various forms of martial arts or fencing, and we discussed how women in film and tv in the US are portrayed fighting wrong. It got down to the issues of fight choreography, kinesthetics and mental focus. It was a really great panel, and we decided that we want to do it again at future local cons. So, expect to see this subject on the list at Gallifrey and Agamemcon next year.

After the days activities, we ordered pizza. Once the food was gone, we went to the party that Loscon was promoting. This is one area they need help in. You see, the LASFS people like to think that they are very entertaining, and they really aren't. They tried to put on a skit, but they lost most of the people before the first hour was over. We all took off around 9 to hit the parties, since I still needed to get my brownies to the Agamemcon party. Our theme was the Day of the Dead, and I had two very cute skeletons dressed as bride and groom, to bring to the party. We had lots of mexican style food and drinks, and there was an alter set up for our "dearly departed loved ones" (Captain/President John Sheriden). We watched the Season 5 episode "Day of the Dead", which was fun, and then started dancing. It was my 'World Cup 1998' CD and was infectious enough to get David Allen Brooks dancing. He had stopped by our party, even though he wasn't appearing at the con until the next day. He did a full tour of the room parties, then parked at ours, since we were sort of sponsoring the Crusaders.

My friends and I then decided to tour the other room parties, but chose not to go into most of them. There was one party that I know was still raging at 4am, but we didn't go into it because they were smoking there. The Centauri were still at it on Saturday, so we stopped by there, and I filled my water gun (it was a gift from one of my friends at the con). Anyhow, after dousing many people in many parties, I made the mistake of shooting the sheep. I got circled by Baaaaing sheep, and won't ever mess with herd animals again. Finally ended up at the dance and stayed there for the next two hours or so, dancing my feet off, and having fun doing it. I found a great dance partner, and so there was no need to go anywhere else. I learned how to dance to the Rasputin song, but was told we did the short version. Oh well, I got to dance in the middle and show everyone how high I can kick (being a black belt has some advantages). After the dance closed, we headed up to the room parties, of which many were still raging on. I ended up at the Agamemcon party for two reasons, wanted to retrieve my skeleton bride and groom, and my room was just two doors down. Went to bed at 4am, I'm so stupid.

Sunday morning and the alarm went off at 7:30am. Roomie had to leave early to catch a flight, even though it meant missing JMS and the Crusaders. I went back to sleep for about another hour, but then I had to get up and pack too. I wanted to load up my car before I started on the Agamemcon table at 10am. Carrie, David and Marjean were all at the autograph table when I finally got downstairs. I immediately went over to say hello to the ladies (I had chatted with David the night before at the party) and asked Marjean about Australia. Peter showed up and apologised for being late, even though he really didn't have to. The Loscon staff got them some food, and the Space:Above and Beyond group at the table next to them gave them water (I love the Ready Reserve, they are so much fun to hang with). This day was very crowded with activity, as I had to work the table, the art auction was starting at noon, the same time as the Crusade panel and the Marion Zimmer Bradley tribute, and then JMS was on. I was running around a lot, and can't really give a good timeline for most of what happened in the afternoon. I can say that Marjean must have left early, as she did not stick around for the panel.

Unfortunately, I am really tired and out of energy, and I want to make sure I get correct what went on at the two panels, the Crusaders and JMS. So, I am going to plead exhaustion here, and get back to this topic tomorrow. Until then, rest assured that I had more fun than I can process right now at this con. I will talk with you all tomorrow.

--
Part Two

On Sunday morning, most everyone at the con was feeling the effects of too much partying, so it was a fairly quiet day. I had a lot of things I wanted to get to on Sunday morning, but had to cut it back due to the fact that I am only one person. My friends and I got seats in the panel room for the Crusade cast, then I ran across the hall to the Art Auction to check on my friends over there. I also had to make a Caffeine run for sodas, but no coke, I was most dissappointed at that. Anyhow, I got back into the panel room just after the Crusade cast started taking questions, and sat back for a real decent panel.

Carrie, David and Peter joked around, as normal, but they also answered some questions quite seriously, so that was nice. Peter mentioned how very impressed he is with the Patriot shoot, and shared an interesting little bit of trivia with us. It seems that instead of doing some of the battle scenes using CGI to simulate maimed soldiers, they contacted SAG and hired as many disabled actors as they could find. So, when you see a soldier with his arm blown off, it won't be a CGI injury, it will be an actor who really doesn't have an arm. I rather like the realism that Devlin and Emmerich attempt, so this didn't surprise me in the least. Peter seems to be really having a lot of fun on this movie shoot, and said the movie should be out next July 4 holiday period, which makes sense.

David occasionally quizzed the audience, which was always funny, somehow. He wanted to know if people preferred character or plot, and said that on the east coast it was character, but at Loscon it turned out to be mostly both. Hmmm, I guess we west coasters just can't make up our minds. There was a really good question about how the cast have reacted to the fans of the show, and each of the cast members actually gave a really serious answer.

David said that he had come by the hotel the night before and visited several of the room parties. His comment was that while many people recognized him and said hello, for the most part, they were all respectful of his privacy and gave him his space. Since most actors only see the fans from the stage or at an autograph table, he thought this was a great way to really see them as people.

Peter said that while on occaision, some fans can be a bit hard to take (the preoccupation with minute details of a show that has been long off the air), the same people can turn around and start talking about quantum physics or relativity, or some such other subject. He likes the diversity of science fiction fans, and said that we should all keep that diversity. He also said that he prefers people who have passion, even if it isn't shared by him, that without passion, a person can be very boring indeed.

Carrie agreed with both comments and just said that she really appreciated the fans and that it was just so special the support that we constantly show for them. Remember, I am paraphrasing, I didn't write this stuff down, so it may come out slightly wrong, but I don't think so. I may end up putting the words of one person in another's mouth, wouldn't that be funny.

Peter also got some questions about his fight arranging and work on stage. He said that he wasn't really doing any of that in the States because he wants to concentrate on acting and writing. This is when he mentioned again the documentary series he will be doing on personal weapons.

When the panel was over, I had to go check in the art auction room again for our friends. One had just bought her last peice, but another friend ended up having to stay. So, we let him know how to find us in the panel room, and let him know that it was OK for him to walk in during JMS' panel. He was afraid that he couldn't come in after it started, he's new to the world of B5 and JMS. In fact, this was one thing that was sort of cool, the fact that someone new to the whole B5 universe was still intrigued enough to attend the panel.

JMS' panel started with the Crusade Wars claymation thing, which was funny, I hadn't seen the whole thing all the way through yet. JMS then finally set the record straight on the whole Chris Carter situation, which is now going to be synopsized by me. JMS and Chris got together and JMS presented Chris with an idea that both of them really liked. They pitched it to CBS, I believe, and were working out the details with Fox. I'm a bit sketchy as to the involvement of both studios, but I think one was a production thing, and one was an airing deal, or something. Maybe now that he told us all about this, he will post it up on rastb5.mod, or someplace like that. Anyhow, just a day or so shy of the deal being signed, Harsh Realm was cancelled. Fox's reasoning was that it wasn't up to par with Chris's previous work because it wasn't 100% Chris's work, it was an idea brought to him by someone else that he had developed. Fox said that Chris's next project would be 100% Chris, which left JMS' project with him out in the cold, so no deal. Now, JMS still wants to do this project, and is shopping around to others now, or at least, I think he is. It's called something like "The World is Burning" or "The World is on Fire", something like that, can't remember exactly now, how silly is that. Anyhow, he seems to really want to do that.

I asked him about what story he might do next for Amazing Stories, and he said it would probably be about the new crew of Babylon 5. I am not sure if he meant the Season 5 crew, or who ever was on it before Sleeping in Light. He also mentioned that there would be some new stories in the B5 magazine, as well as the timeline that is coming out now in the current issue.

Someone asked about what JMS thought was good about his relationship with the fans, or with the making of B5, etc, and the answer nearly brought tears to my eyes. He said that he has gotten on several occasions a note from someone that said they watched B5 with their dying friend, who was given encouragement from the show. Or that someone had taped all of G'Kar's speeches and listened to them over and over in their hospital bed. Or that someone watched the show with their parents and their children, all together. Stuff like that. He said that just one note like this would have made the work to bring B5 to us worth it, but to get it repeatedly really made is special. He just loves the fact that the show actually touched people, which was what it was supposed to do. He also liked the fact that it could bring diverse people together. The fact that online groups have people from all over the world on them was special to him as well. So, it is the personal stuff that made the show so special to him.

Someone also asked about how he did character development. They wanted to know if he had the characteristics of the Narn and Centauri set up first, or if he had G'Kar and Londo first, then developed their homeworld characteristics. JMS said that he had the people first, then started coming up with behaviors for them, then compared them to historical context, to help develop overall characteristics for the people, and then from there, he was able to give them motivations and histories and that the plots just followed suit.

Whenever the Crusade subject came up, he did not just discount it. He did seem to be saying that he didn't think it would be able to be revived, but that stranger things have happened (Star Trek being the prime example). He also said that he would never get in the way of anyone from expressing their passion, so he did not ask the fans to stop trying. I guess he has accepted the fact that many of us are going to keep trying, and since that doesn't really hurt anyone, why not just go with the flow. It was at this time that both Peter and David walked into the hall. JMS called each one up on stage, and they just said that they really enjoyed working with JMS and Babylonian Productions. JMS teased Peter with one of the sheep in the audience, which seems to have confused some of you. There were people with sheeps ears and furry vests on throughout the convention. The rest is just sort of something you would have to be there to witness to understand. Anyhow, both Peter and David thanked JMS for such a wonderful working environment, then left the stage to JMS.

OK, that is about as much as I can remember about the panel for both JMS and Crusade, I can't think of anything else at the moment. JMS didn't stick around, like usual, so I went back over to the art auction to pick up some artwork for a friend of mine who was absent on Sunday. The last really fun thing I did was got into a gun fight with some of the Dangerous Visions dealers. What does that mean? Well, DV is a sci-fi bookstore in the Valley, and while making last rounds in the dealers room, I ran into two of the dealers having a shoot out with little toy guns. They were trying to recreate some cool movie stunts, so I jumped in on that. I showed them the proper technique to do a double fisted, jump through the air and roll on the ground gun fight, never missing your target. In other words, it was a real John Woo moment. So, at 3:30pm on the Sunday afternoon of the con, you could walk into the dealers room and see three people rolling around on the ground, or flying through the air, shooting each other with little spark guns. Most silly way to end a con, but it worked for me.

Before leaving, I had to say good bye to the Space: Above and Beyond crew, who will be at Agamemcon 4 celebrating their 5th anniversary as a group. I also had to make sure I said goodbye to the Oasis group, who were at the table next to us. It was really cool getting to talk with Dr. Jim Busby, who works on the Internation Space Station. He also was a consultant on HBO's From the Earth to the Moon series, so he told me some of the behind the scenes stuff. All in all, this was one great weekend of a con, I had a blast. I can't believe I used to just show up for one day to cons like this, and always left before any of the evening entertainment started. You miss half the con that way.

OK, that's my Loscon report, in two parts. Hope you liked it.

Peace, Love and Rock & Roll,
Kailin

Peter's Notes on LosCon

Here is the first report I promised you all. Let me first state that I had problems hearing some of the questions since there was no microphone for the people who asked the questions. Also, I was bit tired Sunday morning so I did not write down certain questions, responses, and audience reactions that I either found unamusing or unworthy of my time to jot down. Please forgive me for any typos or grammatical errors. What I will be describing is for the most part from the beginning of each panel to the end. Feel free to forward this to any Crusades fan, posting, or group that might find this informative or interesting. Here we go.....

CRUSADES PANEL

Audience is quickly introduced to the panel of Crusades stars: Carrie Dobro(CD), Peter Woodward(PW), and David Allen Brooks(DAB). The panel consists mostly of Q&A.

Q. "Are there any plans for a Crusades movie?"

CD. No, none that I know of. You have to ask JMS, himself.

Q. "Did any of you know where you characters were going, what they were developing into?"

DAB. Prior to the show's cancellation, I really thought the character was getting interesting. We were learning so much about him in the last few eps. Max we would have learned through the grand arc plotline was gonna hit a wall. We would've learn that his character was learning matters of the heart.

PW. Jokingly stating that we would have learn that Gideon and Galen were going to get together and go live on a distant planet. Then he quickly says that we would learn something was going on between Galen and Dureena.

CD. Quickly retorts, "You Wish." Mild laughter.

Q. What are you doing now?

CD. I am currently doing a play. I just helped a friend finish a film for Sundance. (Did not hear if she was in it herself.)

PW. I am in a movie with Mel Gibson (did not get the name of movie) which is out Independence Day. Then he goes on to state how differently it was to work on a project with thousands of extras and wide fields compared to his previous jobs.

' DAB. I've done nothing. I have no life. Some mild laughter. No, I've been doing some writing. Keeping creative.

Q. DAB. "Let me now ask all of you, are you tired?"

A. Audience has to slowly admit that it is, (Considering the parties the night before and personally thinking he senses the room is sorta bored at this moment) DAB thanks the audience for its honesty.

Q. "Peter, what was it like working with your father."

A. I actually get asked this question a lot. It was fun. It was great. We've actually worked together before. It's great fun. Most of the time it is professional. Actually, the first time we worked together I had a difficult time calling my dad by his first name, Edward. Have any of you out there ever done that? It's actually strange. I'm used to calling him, "Daddy"; however, after that I got accustomed to calling him, "Edward."

CD. That's strange I actually heard PW crying out for, "Daddy, Daddy." Audience laughs.

PW. That was a totally different scenario.

Q. DAB. "Let me ask you all, were you more interested in the characters or plot of the show." After asking people to raise their right hands for characters, then left for plot, then PW stating it not fair to raise both hands. Surprised to find out that for this audience it was both. DAB tells audience when he goes to cons and ask this question it usually is one or the other. This is the first group that found both equally interesting.

Q. "As actors what do you bring of yourself into your characters?"

CD. Every role I do, I bring into it a little bit of myself to help develop it. Dureena obviously brings some aspects of my life. In real life, I'm non-confrontational. PW quips, "Oh, really?!" Audience laughs. So besides that a lot of Dureena is me.

PW. It was an on going process. Since JMS was adding things, as you all know he does to his arc. As we worked, things developed, so certain elements from characters had to be then raised to fit these new nuances, elements, inside the script.

DAB. Gives long, lengthy, description using the phrase, "Go to the Door." In essence, ask 3 diff. people to say it, then change it slightly from rushed excitement, to a command, to a nonchalant phrase, you obviously will get variations from person to person. It's a "Color of palette." Then PW always with that quick retort, jokingly states, "Just think if we had a better looking actor to portray Max, it would be a totally diff. character you would see then the one right now." Some audience members laughing while others hissing and booing from that remark. Hey I thought it was funny.

Q. "Considering on B5 in the EP, 'The Deconstructing of Fallen Stars' and other such eps, we sorta knew the fate of Earth prior to the shows premier in regard to the plague. Do you think that hurt Crusades chances?"

CD. If you know JMS, you then know that nothing is as it seems. You can go off in one direction then make a 180. I really don't think it hurt the show, that's just my personal opinion.

Q. "Can you describe how you reacted to that amoebae like alien attaching itself to the Excalibur?"

PW. For those of you who don't know what the questioner is referring to, there was an EP in which the Excalibur encounters some alien life forms in hyper space. Some amoebae like creature. Then one of the creature mildly put tries to hump the ship. I thought to myself this hard to describe and should needless to say remain indescribable. Laughter from audience. How do I react to this? This not something they teach you at school. Then some of us were discussing how do we do this? How would it feel inside the ship when it was being frankly, "Being Humped?" Then he goes on to demonstrate diff. types of movements of shaking, jerking, and undulating motions. Audience is just laughing at this reenactment. PW goes on to state that they took several shots since they were all unsure which one was the most suitable.

Actually, he thought this scene was going to be cut and never shown on air. Audience laughs again. Think about it, do you really think something as extraordinary as this scene regardless of cable would ever be seen. So, naturally everyone did their best never expecting them to choose the wildest and craziest shot out of who knows how many. Of course, they chose that particular one. Now I have to ask you, would you have ever seen this sort of thing with Star Trek? Room just explodes into laughter. Or Star Wars. Laughter continues but now some people begin to applaud.

DAB. I have nothing to say. I think he's done it all.

Q. "Are you afraid of being typecast as just sci-fi performers."

CD. I don't worry at all. I have done sci-fi series, Hypernauts with ABC and other movies. I don't look at as a genre binding.

PW. Jokingly states actually one day someone told me I was bald. Then I was force to make the decision should I go for bald or non-bald role. Then he moves next to CD, stoops down besides her, grabs a handful of her hair and drapes it over his head. This is how I look with hair. Room laughs. Now I ask you?

DAB. Typecasting is not an issue yet. In the past I have played a lot of murders and actually I like playing those killer type roles, but no I don't worry about it.

Q. "Do any of you read Sci-fi?"

CD. Yes, I do. I'm an obsessive reader. I read a lot maybe 3 to 4 books a month. (She might have said week) I read everything from mystery, sci-fi, romance, biography, etc. Actually, I really enjoyed The Oz Series by Baum.

PAW. No, I do not. I do not read fiction. I read a lot of biography and history for research and for writings.

DAB. I used to read a lot of it. Then I stopped then I recently started again with (missed the name) series.

Q. "Peter, what kind of writing do you do?"

A. I used to write for plays back in England. Now I write for screen.

Q. "Peter, do you choreograph sword fights?"

A. Yes, I used to do. Being a writer/actor is enough for now.

Q. "What do you look for when reading scripts"

DAB. First consideration, last time I worked. Room laughs.

CD. That's the most truthful answer you'll get.

DAB. I try to find scripts in which you wish you could do that special unique acting thing but then you just get some toxic scripts in which you say to yourself I would never do this but sometimes do. Actually, however, I once did a script which I thought was toxic but turned out to be totally diff.

CD. Actually I learned to read the scripts first after taking a role before reading it. Then realizing how bad it really was before I could get out of it.

Q. "What do you think of sci-fi fans?"

DAB. That's an honest question to ask. Actually, I was here last night during some of the parties and got to mingle with some of the fans. You get a unique cross section of people just like you would in today's society. I just appreciate the fact that so many care about us and our characters. I just think you're fine and great. PW and CD reiterate the same thing and thanks the audience for caring about them and each of their characters.

PW. He goes on to state how he thought it was fascinating how one minute you could be talking to fans about how high the skirt on U'Hura was then the next minute talking about particle physics then to black holes and time traveling. He thought it was fascinating. Then he goes on to state that you should do what interests you. If that's sci-fi then great. We all need something that captures our imagination and our interests to keep expanding our knowledge.

Stars thank the audience for joining them and the panel ends. Next email JMS' panel at Loscon

JMS enters the room to thunderous applause. Then begins the panel by resolving the Internet rumors about his new series. He tells us the working title, "The World on Fire." He goes on to say that he pitched the idea to CBS who said they loved it. Anyway, he has been working on it for the past 5 months, doing the pilot movie and first episode. He was working in cooperation with Chris Carter and his production team at 10-13. Now, while he and Chris were working on this together, Chris was also working on a new series, Harsh Realm, which got canceled. Fox, naturally likes Chris Carter, and informed him that they would be behind his next (I believe JMS said solo) series 100%. Anyway, one day prior to the CBS agreement, Fox pulled out. Consequently, "The World on Fire" is off. He is hoping another network will pick it up.

JMS then comments how nice it was to work with Chris Carter and the people at 10-13 productions. That these people understood good characters and plotlines. That this is the essence of any good series or writings. He then comments that Carter is like a surfer, but one who surfs in a cemetery.

Then he goes on to tell us what he is doing. He is still doing his comic book series, "Rising Star." (It is basically the same thing he said back at Conucopia. Email me if you want a copy of that report) He is also doing some radio drama with NPR called beyond 2000, which will be out in the spring of 2000. He picked the topic of, "Marching Morons." Not sure if that was a joke or not.

Q. Will you be doing more stories about B5 characters, such as Gkar and Lyta in Amazing Stories?
A. Actually he plans to do some more story lines. He will actually have a contest where he posts 4 story plots and let the fans pick which one they want him to write about. One story could tell us what happens with Gkar and Lyta, or Londo and Vir, etc. He's not sure yet which four he will let the fans choose. Anyway, Amazing Stories, is run by Warner Brothers so not sure how you can vote on it. If any of you have read them email me so that I can give more details for people who ask about it.

Q. "Can you tell us anything about 'World on Fire'?"
A. Sorry, I cannot. It is still an ongoing process. It could be picked up by another network, but I promise you, it is something you wonder why no one has done this type of series before.

JMS then jokingly tells the crowd that he has been working on a secret B5 movie which he would like to show us. It is a black and white claymation video about 5 minutes long. It is like a cheesy early 50's type sci-fi video, with a rocket ship similar to Flash Gordon's. Sorry didn't think it was that funny so didn't take that many notes about it. At the end of the video, JMS comments, how he doesn't care what the fans on the net say about the actors, "They are not Wooden." Laughter from parts of the room.

Q. What did you think of the jellyfish, amoeba like scene?
A. Honestly, I did not write it, so I cannot comment on it. Read Crusades report to understand this question.

Q. "Are you writing novels, sci-fi?"
A. I am writing outlines with sci-fi elements in them.

Q. "Did you and Chris Carter ever compare fan bases"
A. Are you saying did we ever discuss our fan base size. Laughter from room. My fan base is bigger than your fan base. No, we never talked about it. Then JMS reiterates early statement how 10-13 understood good characters and plots vs. simple thrills and ratings.

Q. "Sci-fi Network, could they pick up Crusades after its time with TNT and finish its plot"
A. No, probably not. Comment from a fan about Mr. Kitty and JMS thanks person for inquiring. Missed the dialogue since no microphone.

Q. "Did you ever mention to Chris your parody of X-files you did on Crusades?" -Laughter from room
A. Did not mention it at all to him. In fact, no one knew about it at 10-13.

Q. Something about DVDs for Crusades
A. Don't know. Does know that back

Q. "Will you tell the Crusades arch by movies or such?"
A. No, no to movies and plot. Eventually there will be a Technomage novelization by James Kaloog. (Same info about it that I wrote in Conucopia report)

Q. "Greatest disappoint you have about B5?"
A. Don't have one offhand. Nothing he wanted to tweak. Really isn't one. Entire experience was "Golden"

Q. "Will you do any future shows or series with TNT?" - Some people hissing and booing at this question.
A. JMS joking states, "Now let me think about this. NO!" Slim to none. Then he makes a joke about TNT executives having a large piece of something lodge in their skulls and it isn't their brains.

Q. "Are there any plans for a Telepath War Novel?"
A. Eventually, yes. Would like to write about one.

Q. "Can you compare Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5?" - Lots of booing and hissing from room. JMS at this time is bowing his head as in shame that someone would actually ask this question.
A. "NO!". Room explodes into applause. "They are different things." It's like comparing apples with bananas. He doesn't know why, "Everything needs comparison to Star Trek," -JMS makes comment how today there is less resistance to Sci-fi today than before.

Q. Something about creating B5 characters.
A. Started with each specific character and from that you get certain attributes such as arrogance and conquest. From there you then back track to the planet itself and the aliens and then you get the entire history and scenario of the B5 universe. (More or less) -Then he recounts how the only souvenir he kept from the series was the Babylon 5 station prop that you see sitting atop Sheridan and Lochley's desk.

Q. "What can fans do to change the airdates and schedules?"
A. If the network is receptive a letter campaign, personal emails, etc. If not, nothing will suffice.

Q. "Ever intend to write for someone else?"
A. Become too cranky and old to do that again. Only happy to be producer or co-ex. producer.

Q. "Are there ghosts on sound stage at B5?"
A. JMS seems dumbfounded. Informing the person that was news to him. The person then begins to tell how actors and others have seen them. Retelling about an old lady or guy and some other entities, couldn't hear. JMS simply shrugs it off.

Q. "Any good practical jokes that haven't been told yet?"
A. Nope, most have been told in one form or the other. -JMS makes a comment how the Crusades cast was more serious than B5. But then again the show was more serious. That is why you do not see a blooper reel for Crusades. They were more serious and very few mistakes.

Q. Something about brining back Crusades with its original cast.
A. It's been too long. Doubt it will ever happen.

JMS is asked a question by a furry fan, wearing sheep head gear. Before, person can even ask question people in room begin, "Baaing" JMS then responds by stating, "You're not well" You guys out there are just not well at all. That's not a bad quality I mind you but you're just not well. Anyway, I missed the question between all the laughing, baaing, but you get the idea.

-JMS was interviewed by 48 HRS about the future. He made comments about the net. How he thought it was great to get an international view of the world while you in a room all by yourself. Some comments from room which gets some laughter. He goes on to state that it, "Increases your horizon but decrease your socialization with the outside world, itself." Then he goes on to answer some questions about the millennium. He stated that you can see throughout history that the first 10 years for a new century are great. New advancements talks about renaissance period and such. Anyway, he goes on to state that its after the 10th year you get trouble. So in essence he told the reporter, "First ten year you got free. Year 11 and beyond trouble." Then he jokingly states that he thinks the reporter actually bought that statement. Some people laugh at this remark.

Q. "Best thing you've heard from fan comments?"
A. There are a variety of things. Small personal stories. Tells of a story about a guy dying of AIDS who was a B5 fan. Friend of his put all of the Gkar speeches on tape then the fan would listen to them to keep up his strength to keep fighting and persevere. Fan did eventually loose the battle but it did give him strength and hope. Another story he retells is how it closes the generation gap with families. How a grandparent would watch it with their grandson and then after each episodes discuss what they just watched. Just the simple fact that the show has had an impact is the best thing.

-Next person to ask a question states how it has changed her families lives and brought them together. Then JMS thanks her and retells the story about a religious conference in Israel. How they had a hard time communicating with one another until one person mentioned they watched B5, then another religious leader said they also watched it and so on and so on. By the end, the table of religious leaders were discussing B5 and how it was similar to their religious teachings and aspects. JMS thought this was ironic considering it was written by an atheist.

Q. What about music on Crusades.
A. JMS says he "likes" the music. Goes on to say that you have to trust new talent and let it grow. That Evan eventually found the niche to fit the show. Later states that he would, "rather try something new and fail then never had ever tried."