View from Comic Con

This is perhaps a strange offering to post on Mother's Day, but my mom always supported my geekly pursuits, and was a big Dr. Who fan herself. I'm always a little sad that my mom didn't live to see the whole new era of Dr. Who!

Last weekend Chad and I attended Comic Con. It was my first SciFi convention in about 30 years, (the first one Chad has ever been to) and I had a wonderful time. What I loved most was the sense of excitement and enthusiasm in the air. I also loved the feeling of community. There are a million different ways these days to be a geek, and although I don't share any fan love for Harry Potter or the Power Rangers (much less all the aspects of geekdom that I know nothing about), we were still all united by some common bonds of geekiness and drawn together as a community. I'm also very happy to say that my niece, Kate, is part of this geek community and we got to spend time together at Con.

Me and my niece Kate. 

The highlight for me was getting to hear the celebrities speak to the throngs. (We didn't spring for photo ops or autographs). Here are my random, half-remembered observations:

James Marsters (Spike from Buffy)
Wow. Very thoughtful, funny, charming, sexy guy. I loved his story about kissing John Barrowman (Captain Jack) for Torchwood. He said his fiancee was on the set and advocated for several takes of the scene because it was turning her on. He also shared very powerful and personal reflections on what it was like for him to film the rape scene in "Buffy." As a Buffy fan, I loved learning that he always played Spike as if he had a soul, and then had to find a way to bring a new layer to his character once Spike really got a soul. As a very amateur actor, I appreciated his insight on looking for the love to play in every role. (For Cow #2 from "Click, Clack, Moo" my love was for revolution and the typewriter). 



William Shatner (THE Captain Kirk, Denny Crane, etc., etc.)
William Shatner totally owned being William Shatner. He started off with a story about filming the movie "Gonzo Ballet" in Minneapolis, which he then realized was probably actually filmed in Milwaukee, but didn't let them stop him. No one in the audience seemed to mind, because he is William Shatner, after all.
Shatner was a great storyteller, and totally knew how to work an audience. A time or two he even commented on the rapt attention of the crowd and remarked how that embodied the sense of wonder generated by Star Trek. I was most struck by the story he told about performing an episode of a radio drama that wasn't recorded and wasn't performed for an audience. It was something the actors did just because they were caught up in the magic of it and just for it's own ephemeral sake. I need to remember that the next time I despair about performing for a small house. 

Karen Gillan (Doctor Who companion Amy Pond)
Unfortunately, Karen Gillan is dead to me because she said she preferred the name "Amelia" to "Amy." Just kidding, of course! Karen Gillan was adorable, and it was especially cool to see so many kids, including girls, in the audience. The kids' questions did get a little repetitive (you can only ask/answer variations of "Who is your favorite monster?" "What is your favorite episode?" etc., so many times) but KG (not to be confused with Kevin Garnett) was always enthusiastic. Amy Pond is definitely one of my favorite "reboot" companions, and I especially love Amy & her husband Rory, and the whole Amy/Rory/Doctor dynamic (I think Amy and the Doctor were definitely in love, which in no way diminishes Amy and Rory's love, but that's a whole different drunken geek conversation...)

Matt Smith (Doctor #11)
The most exciting thing about seeing Matt Smith was actually getting in to see Matt Smith...I was so worried that I didn't get in line in time to see him, but I actually got in with room to spare. Unfortunately, Chad wasn't able to come (Matt Smith was on Day 2 when Chad had church commitments). I'm proud to say that Matt Smith is the third doctor I've got to hear speak (I heard Patrick Troughton and Collin Baker at a Doctor Who convention that I got to attend in the mid-80's with my mom and sister!). Once again, sharing the experience and sense of communion with all the other attendees was the biggest thrill, and it was heartwarming to see whole new generations of Dr. Who fans. 

The only fail of the weekend is we weren't able to get in to hear Nathan Fillion speak. But it is hard to really call that a fail, because that led us to the Independent Comics Creators Roundtable where we got to discover new artists including local author Zander Cannon.