az_ophi

My two pennyworth....firstly, much appreciate the original opening statememt on page 1 - seems a more balanced reaction than on Sat night. Also, although I didnt come to see Stan (yes, shocker.....some of us didnt come to see Stan, Carrie or John Hurt!) it is good to get more background as there were some worrying posts on here and regardless of being a fan or not, a 91 year old fella needs to be treated a little differently than a 30 year old. Happy to read that it appears he WAS looked after. Is it worth considering (brace yourselves people!) moving out of London? The Nec im Brum is huge and would allow the natural expansion of the show. Also though, is big beautiful? "Our biggest ever!" but at what cost? Did we NEED the line up of Stan AND Carrie AND others like John Hurt or Jenna Coleman etc....was the limit of dreams stretched too far? Im kind of curious to see how prepaid g.teed auto's with EA &/or photoshoots COULD work - the cost is crucial and simplicity too. People say Silver or Gold passes do the trick but not if you are like me who wanted to meet the BSG chaps and Summer only and then took the chamce on the day for VT's for Terry and Lena etc. Prepaid auto's also rule out the option to "ooh....I fancy an extra auto" when you arrive....I would have bought an extra Summer auto if a particular photo had been available free (I assumed it would be being her most famous pose from Terminator but wasnt and after the agony of getting to the front of the queue I could go out and buy it off a dealer and come back again). Do you need to advertise the show in The Metro newspaper anymore? Did that drag a lot of casual people to the show crippling the venue? Finally, deleting posts for whatever reason leaves a bitter taste for those who post - it "looks" like you are massaging the facts - a lot of comments are offered by fans of SM to make future SM events positive...dont fear our feedback. As one person has said on here - great you are talking to your staff for a debrief but you can talk to us too - I know this forum ticks that box but Im sure some of us would happily meet for a debrief if we knew it would be a positive experience too.

I would love to see Guy Hamilton (director of Goldfinger and other Bonds) as well as some other Bond guests actually Also, Michelle Forbes from TNG/BSG/True Blood would be great to return back to another show - she seemed v popular at MK few years ago.... Finally, we need a Tricia Helfer/Katee Sackhoff double bill....trust me....a talk with them both would be a riot!

Wow.....I started this thread to understand more about what being a volunteer entails and what drives someone to go from "customer" to "crew" and also to get some balance towards my grumpiness of Saturday's experience (!) but I have to say I have happily sat back and watched this thread turn into a "love-in" for some of the really well deserved crew members get a public thank you and pat on the back.... It's been great to see some really engaging and positive stuff come out and helped to wipe away some of my bad memories from Saturday. I still feel desperately sorry for the red shirted lady at Summer Glau's queue who burst into tears with the pressure of it all and I really wanted to give her a hug but luckily she knew someone else in the queue who acted quickly and helped her regain her composure. To all those lovely wonderful crew who did help us out - thanks and this thread is for you!

Sad to see the post from Saturday deleted. Last I looked it ran into double figures pages with some really constructive feedback on it - including from myself. It's Showmasters forum so I guess they are allowed to control what is here but Im really sad that they have chosen to delete it as it looks worse now for them than actually standing up and holding their hands up and saying "if that was your experience, regardless of if I agree, then we're sorry....come again and let us prove it was a blip".

Thanks Banished....thats the kind of info I was after....what makes you keep coming back ?

So much has been written about the negatives of LFCC - some by myself - and yet.....what I would love to see and have info on is who volunteers and what are their experiences and if I was interested in volunteering myself what would I get out of it/what does it really entail? Who knows - I may do it to help prevent another weekend like this.

Ian is one of the most lovely people you could ever meet...I've met him twice after plays he has been in and always seems gobsmacked anyone is remotely interested in saying "hello" and if you haven't seen him (and can get a ticket) do see him in his current play Bakersfield Mist...it's amazing seeing the odd Emperor like tick come through in his performance...though it's deffo NOT the Emperor on stage in most of his performance! Do see, he is quite funny arguing with Kathleen Turner!

Maybe one of the reasons why there are so many "newbies" responding to the "treatment" on here is because they are shocked by the treatment - if people are bothered enough to post here then it must really have been a disappointment. I for one was expecting the treatment - as have had previous bad experiences both at SM shows and others, but sometimes your pleasently surprised - which is why I DO stay in a queue - also though I think you have to take into account that some people will have travelled a good distance, taken time off work, poss booked a hotel nearby etc and you want it to be fun day out and not be ruined by "jobsworths".

I got to MK at 8am yesterday. I had number 115 on a VT - I thought "well I shall meet a living legend after all!" I did too It took all of a few seconds! Having seen Nimoy earlier in the year at Excel I knew that Shatner would be the same - hello and goodbye and heres the auto no personlisation, no chat, no pics no nothing. If I just want an autograph I can always buy one form the dealer stalls - but I do prefer to see these people in the flesh, get a feel for them, maybe even have a very brief exchange of pleasentries. Nimoy I made shake my hand and without letting go I asked "I see your not directing anymore?" NO he replied, "so now you dabble in photography?" YEAH ITS FUN GREAT TO MEET YOU! By half 2 I had been told Shatner had wizzed through all his VT's and it didnt really matter I was 115 - it was an open queue "please join the queue!" I was told. I was able to take time to select a couple of pics - one young and one old Kirk but I had a Star Trek V DVD that I had just bought from a dealer for £10 that is the 2 disc sp ed. Had hurridly ripped the celophane off and pulled the cover out of its sleeve. I handed my pic over and then pushed the dvd and its cover under Shatners nose and said "can you sign the DVD cover too?" I had hoped that seeing Star Trek V Shatner may have made some passing reference or looked up or anything! But at this point - it was a no! Then JCB screamed "DID HE PAY FOR TWO SIGS!!! - HES ALREADY HAD A PIC SIGNED AND NOW HES GETTING A DVD SIGNED!" Bill had scrawled something on the DVD and I put my hand on his podgy right hand that was holding the pen and said "Thanks Bill, great to see you!" He looked up, with watery tired eyes (I guess he was pretty jet lagged) and had this lovely smile on his face of complete beamusement at the whole thing and said "HI!" I didnt hang around because I knew it wasnt the "done thing" with the way that the military operation was going. Suffice to say I MADE BILL speak to me - JCB made me feel like scum. I dont know whos idea it was to rush us all through - its not necessary since other big names spend time with fans - even ifits a simple min or two - Ive seen it before where they say in the queue to you - no photos or personalisations please we have to get the queue through as quick as poss. So, 2 points - Showmasters - why do you ALLOW JCB to gatecrash your event? I heard form another crew member that she does this and your all TOO SCARED OF HER! she is insulting and ruining the experience for YOUR CUSTOMERS! ... point 2 - if you are going to have BIG NAME GUESTS - and you do VT's - then at least have the courtesy to allow the guests to have their time with them - if you have handed out 600 VT's let the guest go through them in their own time - unless of course either you or the guest is a money grabbing so and so - and for this I havent a clue where Mr Shatner is on this one. Collectormanias have steadily got worse for me - the only reason I go back for more is that the odd guest amazes me - Kristanna Loken oozed sex appeal and draped herself all over me for a pic, Penny Johnson had me in stitches with her sarcasm - even her husband joined in too, and John Billingsley last year was so lovely to chat to we found out that we had pretty much the same perscription in glasses and swapped them - he wore my specs and I put his on for a few mins to "see the world" - bearing in mind that his glasses (when hes not Dr Phlox!) have starred in Hollywood films and TV shows then I guess I have worn a prop/costume!!! As time has gone on - what has ruined the collectormanias is the way you are treated like some nasty thing with foot and mouth and rushed through by staff members - some who seem to think they are security on the latest Star Wars film and will stop at nothing to prevent you taking a pic, haveing a peek or just going about your business!