fritzlang

agreed the seven of nine girls all looked gorgeous,i saw several of them on the saturday,i got some photos of them and i had my photo taken with the one in the blue costume.

I must say i hadn`t booked a ticket for the event and then saw online that saturday was sold out. but as i had set my sights on going i thought i would turn up anyway to see if i could get in. when i arrived at Excel it was still early(about 10am) i was pointed in the direction of the ticket booth and was indeed told that saturday was sold out ....but was then told i could buy a weekend ticket for saturday and sunday....??? excuse me...but wheres the logic to this??...how can an event be sold out one minute...then in the next moment you can suddenly buy a ticket for it...but only if you pay for two days entry??...hmmm....sounds like profiteering to me. of course i bought the ticket,i could only attend for that one day....but my entry for saturday then cost me an eye watering £40 I agree the programme at £10 was mostly adverts and not worth it. On the plus side i enjoyed the event as a whole.I only bought two autographs as i`m more of a TOS fan than anything else and i hardly ever do photoshoots or paid for talks....but one look at the queues for tickets throughout the day was enough to put anyone off.for those people who do lots of these at events,how can you enjoy the day??...you spend the whole time queueing and clock watching.but each to thier own i guess. i did however eventually do the bridge photoshoot later in the afternoon....but only when i was able to get a ticket with just 3 people in front of me,much more pleasant. I must say 10/10 for the speed of that photoshoot(queueing aside)....from having the photo taken to actually walking away with it in my hand...about 15 seconds!!!...this must surely be the future of photo collection at conventions.no more scrums at photo tables five people deep... convention organisers take note;...this was THE way to do photos. I thought the turnout for costumes was excellent and fantastic to see,well done everybody you looked amazing!!

great to see the star trek TOS group of girls at mk dons again,i always look out for you guys,and there you were! i must get a photo with you next time. in general i dont think there were as many cosplayers this time round,i was only there on saturday though,so cant speak for the other days.but great to see the ones who were in costume.a standout for me was the jason voorhees.... and there was a very impressive lookalike of matt smith there...did anyone else see him?....he was a dead ringer. and also thought the sisters of plenitude looked amazing...great make up and costumes girls,,,,,,werent you guys klingons last time? i think i had a photo with you if you were.

want to say a few words about poor jake lamotta. one of my two reasons for going to this particular convention was to meet him,the other reason was to meet nichelle nichols. on arriving at the dons stadium i did a quick scout round to see where he was located(he wasnt due to start signing untill 11am) it was pretty cold at the venue today,i think most people would agree on that,so i was amazed to see that jake lamotta,who lets not forget is 91 years old,had been put out on the main concourse,and open to all the elements.......didnt any of the organisers think this might be a bad idea??? i noticed several guests,some a lot younger than lamotta were sited in undercover areas. jake arrived over an hour late,and after several rescheduled time changes to lamottas photo shoot,he then proceeded to do some autographs,but the queue was soon halted and we were told to come back later because of congestion in the walkway. on arriving back there later there was no sign of jake,and was told by a crew member he had become ill because of the cold weather,and had cancelled the rest of his appearance,including the photo shoot. thus i reiterate my point,why put a 91 year old man out in the open like that?......he should have been given somewhere with shelter,or preferably inside. it was such a disappointment for many fans,me included,who may have missed our chance to ever meet the bronx bull.it seems unlikely given his age that he will make another trip here,and especially now having become ill on the visit. a real missed opportunity. i hope the champ was ok,thats the most important thing.....does anyone know anything?

not sure if anyone else has had the same thought....but as both karen gillan and caitlin blackwood are attending how bout a double photoshoot with both amy ponds??? that would be a great photo to have. i realise its probably too late to organise...even if you are up for the idea showmasters...maybe next time?

just wanted to add a big thank you to michael ford for taking the trouble to bring his oscars to the event,it was a really nice thought.my eyes were on stalks when i saw those,i mean,how often do you get to see those??...and he was more than happy for people to hold them,so i think i was not alone in getting a photo op of that one....that was one of the unexpected highlights of the day for me,finally getting to hold a real oscar!....will tick that off my bucket list now.....lol thanks michael!!

many congratulations on the success of empire day today,particularly to the organisers who made it all happen.i am sure everyone who attended went away happy(and in some cases skint....lol).and look forward to empire day 2 next year....this event is surely destined to become "a must" amongst star wars fans judging by the reception today. it was a great feeling to be on the hallowed turf of elstree,i had never been on a film sound stage before,so i was thrilled by that,let alone the event itself.i envisioned i was going to be walking onto some vast sound stage...a la bond.....but stage 7 was how shall i say...bijou....lol.i understand that it may be held in a larger stage next year,so will look forward to seeing more of elstree...and no doubt more guests and more fans. the talks were good,and ran smoothly.and i thought the auction was very good,there were some nice pieces of vintage memorabilia,i have found at lots of other cons and i`m sure i speak for many here, that the standard of the auctions has been lacking to say the least.....mugs and t shirts anyone?? but on this showing there were plenty of quality collectibles,some rare items too.well done guys! i`m sure the archive must be more than happy with the way the bidding went. only one criticism.....more bar staff needed....i waited twenty minutes to get served a cup of coffee and i wasnt the only one.the poor bar girls struggled to keep up with the demand.....well done to them for trying though. thanks again for a great event guys...remember it i shall...lol heres to empire day 2013!!

good guest! am feeling slightly smug about this latest guest announcement,as i got gillian andersons autograph for free some years ago when she was appearing in a play in london. still,its nice for those who havent met her to get the chance......any chance of an x files double signing with duchovney???....probably not.....but that would be something.

i met her at a showmasters event in 2007,it was at the height of "heroes" mania....lol. it was absolute bedlam at the signing......as you may imagine.

sad though it may be to hear,i think if you have not been lucky enough to meet leonard nimoy by now,your chances are very slim.he has as we know now officially retired,so i think you have missed the boat.the guy is after all 80 years old now,so lets all wish him well,and let him enjoy his retirement. you will always have TOS to console you!

yes,would love to meet lee majors,the six million dollar man was regular tv viewing for me in the 70s.so that would be very nostalgic. 70s tv.....what a decade for it!! on that same idea,how bout a list of guests from hit 70s tv shows? henry winkler,lou ferrigno,lynda carter etc etc.?? that would be great to see for those of us of a certain age....lol

AMAZING!!! thank you so much for this showmasters.nichelle is the final piece in my star trek tos jigsaw of surviving cast members to meet,so i am totally thrilled by this announcement.

if there is one guest suggestion i have for 2012,it is for the return of karen gillan. she was as good as it gets when it comes to meeting the fans,as anybody who was there at the convention this year will agree.it was a pity she could only do one day,some fans no doubt did not get the chance to meet her,she was mobbed the whole day,but was a total delight throughout.so it would be nice if those who missed out last time,could get the chance again. she must have been totally shattered by the end of the day,but was good humoured,patient and friendly with everyone.a lesson that some other guests might care to learn........ way to go karen!!!

aside from just 3 autos,didnt really buy much...but got an amelia pond exclusiive dr who exhibition figure,which i later got caitlin to sign.a superman logo t shirt with unusual colours,and some schlocky 60s/70s horror movies on dvd. quite restrained for me......lol

it`s the old complaint again about the talks... why is the sound always bad?......how difficult can it be to get a microphone that works and an amplifier? at john hurts Q and A,his mic packed up half a dozen times,even he commented on it.

yes,i will definitely second those comments. john hurt was the highlight of the event for me,a real pleasure. he was busy all day,but made time for everyone and was very friendly.and i thought the talk he gave was one of the best i have ever been to at a con.he was extremely articulate,and gave lots of interesting and informative anecdotes about his films and his life as an actor,so unlike many who give talks at events,but always give the impression they would rather be somewhere else,and give pat answers to questions and make no effort.he was very relaxed and not atall starry. i also liked the fact,that he seemed to really enjoy being there and meeting the fans. so pleased to have met him. nice one john....come back again!!

I agree that I wouldn't pay those kinds of prices, but that's down to personal choice. I certainly don't think ANY guest is there as a favour to the fans, nor appearing to 'give something back' to them. I've always seen signing events as just another business .. [/quo Indeed. The days of getting autographs from a star who is `giving something back to the fans` are long gone in my opinion. Thank to autograph dealers stars usually dont part with their autograph without a fee, unless your lucky eghto kno tem or bump into them at a pemire or something. I can remember a time...and i am going back 30 years here................when i first started collecting film memorabilia and going to film fairs.this was long before the big signing events we have now,the focus was mostly on the film memorabilia...which incidentally was not only all vintage and in abundance then but still relatively cheap to get hold of.nowdays,everyone is a collector. but the thing i do remember,was occasionally at these film fairs they had guests doing signings,and the big difference back then was...it was free!! you just turned up,joined the queue and they signed a photo,which they also provided themselves for free.hard to believe now,but true. happy days......................

no,quinto and pine are NOT spock and kirk. nimoy and shatner are spock and kirk. end of story. and for the same price of one quinto auto....i got BOTH of the original legends.i know what i would rather have.

Only he could possibly answer that. But why shouldn't he if he wants to? Most of them will probably end up with dealers or on various auction sites so why shouldn't he get something for it too? He was just mentioned as someone with a very high profile that could command a high price in contrast to some of the people in this poll who many feel are over pricing themselves given what their profile is. All Jason can do is present the options. Why some will require such high fees to cover costs is down to them. If you dont like it, don't pay it and vote against it. as i said earlier,he quite obviously doesn`t need the money,so what`s in it for him? surely the only reason to do a signing through the mail is A/ to avoid the hassle of a personal appearance.and B/ make a profit...........so,if he`s not into that kind of thing anyway and doesnt need the cash,what`s the ponit of the exercise? i`m sure $500 is not going to make any difference to harrison ford.

can anyone explain this practice of movie stars doing signings for exhorbitant prices............i`m thinking of the harrison ford comments earlier.....$500 for his autograph through the mail......what`s that all about?? it`s well known ford is a guy who likes his privacy,we understand that.and is far from in the habit of making personal appearances,let alone signings,ok,fair enough.he is also an extremely wealthy man,a millionaire many times over. so,my question is,why do a signing? and secondly,why charge $500 when he clearly doesn`t need the money?. i never understand this one

£75 for an autograph of zachary quinto???.....................an eye watering amount indeed,i think a reality check is definitely in order here. no doubt there are some quinto fans who would be "willing" to stump up that kind of cash............but i would suggest most fans have rather more modest budgets.and well known though he is among the sci-fi fraternity,i would also suggest hardly worthy of that kind of price tag............where are these figures plucked out of the air from?? not even legends like shatner,or nimoy were asking that kind of money. if De Niro or Pacino were ever to appear at an event (a non existent possibility...but used as a hypothetical example) then i think most fans would expect and consider £75 to be a "going rate"...these guys are after all bona fide "film stars" in every sense of the word. zachary quinto on the other hand....................................... maybe he could do a buy one get one free deal...........much more appealing.

Thora Birch - good call!....she was so good in;"American Beauty" and "Ghost World"......two excellent movies,what has happened to her career lately though? all her stuff seems to be in the straight to dvd horror genre.a sure sign of a career slump.

excellent guest! will definitely meet him! keep those star trek TOS guests coming!

nichelle nichols!!!..star trek legend..............please can we have her??? anyone from the original planet of the apes movies/tv series! - linda harrison or buck kartalian especially. richard dreyfuss?....he`s cancelled before.....but a "jaws" legend! would make my day to meet him. lee majors - the six million dollar man himself - 70s tv nirvana! pam grier - 70s blaxploitation queen and tarantino star. helen slater and brandon routh - supergirl and superman! a "heroes" reunion david duchovny and gillian anderson - isn`t it about time? michael keaton - batman anyone from "watchmen" tim curry and richard o`brien - "rocky horror" .........................to be continued.

you guys looked awesome..............but i only saw you for about five seconds............i was hoping to see you later on in the day,but never saw you again,i wanted to get a photo with you.thats twice now i have missed a photo op with the apes....i missed you guys at the nec in the spring too.......or was that another gang of gorillas?...lol