-The Event-

[Calumn]

I did this for the last LFCC and got widely shot down for highlighting the negative points aswell as the postitive, but not having learnt my lesson I intend again to give me honest and frank opinions on all aspects of the LFCC3 event.

 

To be honest, this was without doubt the worst showmasters event I have ever been to. I almost regret going, infact if it hadnt been for operation george I would probably have left and gone home at lunchtime, and operation george only just tipped the day across the line into being worthwhile, however I am now having serious doubts about C8.

 

The worst thing for me here was the guests who were, to be honest, dreadful. The number of guests was poor, the photographs available were TERRIBLE in both quality and variety, and the overall quality of guests without Val Kilmer, who being such a big name had singlehandedly raised the bar before hand, was pretty poor. Even though I didnt think C7 was that great, I still got about 25 autographs, here I got 5. Yes, 5. This was undoubtablt the worst guest line up the Showmasters have ever come up with and I am very worried it will set the trend for future events.

 

The crew also left alot to be desired, while they were all very friendly, none of them seemed to be the slightest bit well informed. I asked at the main desk about where I would find Joe Robinson, and the first three I asked didnt even know that he was coming or even who he was, and when I eventually found someone who vaguely remembered hearing him mentioned, he sent me off in totally the wrong direction. The same sort of thing kept happening, everyone was very eager to help but couldnt. I strongly suggest a much better briefing for crewmembers in future events.

 

One major plus point for the showmasters, however, was the venue which was just lightyears ahead of Wembley or the Shopping Centre at MK. For a start, it was very easy to get to, the travel information provided being very adequate, and easy to get into as, and I've got to praise them on this, they got the long queue processed amazingly fast. Once in the room, it was so much better aswell. Nice, big, spacious, airy, cool and easy to get around - the perfect location for an event like this and I'm very glad they're sticking with it. The only negative aspect was the catering, while the food was good, the prices were just unacceptable, but being so well located it was very easy to get something to eat outside the event with resturants, fast food places, mini supermarkets and corner-shops all nearby.

 

Another criticism however, though not really the Showmasters's fault, was the stalls. I got bored of these very quickly as they just seemed to be the same old stuff again and again, and exactly the same as previous events. None of them had the photos I wanted and were very friendly when I asked, though of course, the Showmasters cant really pick and choose who sells in their venues. One thing they could do, however, is ban the sale of pirate DVDs which they seem to encourage from the quanity that were being sold and the lack of descression of the sellers. There wasnt much to do, either, not as many competitions as usual, or atleast there didnt seem to be, or interesting people to talk to. The comic artists were alot less friendly, and there was nothing like the official armourers or Alien Props exhibitions that there was last time, just a few film vehicles which didnt interest me. Infact, I didnt really do anything apart from get the autographs, and I didnt get many.

 

All in all, here's a summary of the aspects with values out of 10:

 

Guest Line-Up - 3/10

Guest Friendliness - 7/10

Guest Photographs - 1/10

Crew Friendliness - 8/10

Crew Usefullness 4/10

Venue - 9/10

Catering - 3/10

"Getting in" (transport information, queue speed etc) - 8/10

Stalls - 5/10

Things to do - 3/10

 

As you can see, a few are pretty high but the important ones are for the most part pretty low, well below previous events. I'm sure lots disagree with me, but who among you can honestly say that there wasnt loads of room for improvement?

[jacksparrowsmistress]

I have to agree with you about the guest line-up. I only met Billy Boyd this time, there was no-one else there that interested me apart from the no-show Mr Kilmer. I had planned to meet Grace Park but she'd cancelled which was disappointing.

 

The venue is good, but again I agree that the catering was extortionate, far too expensive for what it was, but once you're inside you dont have a choice unless you want to leave the venue to find somewhere else.

 

The stalls bored me too, too many selling the exact same thing nothing that took my interest much. I thought the stalls were better at C7 actually, even though they were cramped and it was difficult to see all of them.

[Glorfindel]

I enjoyed this more than C7 - i felt there was more time to talk to guests and it wasn't as cramped - granted the guests weren't huge but i really did think it was better than C7. Val the no show was a disappointment

[JOLLYWOOD]

bulls***..get a life man

[Dom]

Good Points

 

Crew were all good, most were pretty helpful. Felt sorry for the guy on the Kilmer que, but he knew no more than anybody else and that was not his or from what I know so far anybody connected with the cons fault.

 

The venue was nice. It did feel very spaced out, but im sure thats just beacuase its such a huge place. Even the bacon & sausage sanwiches were nice and the cloak room was very helpful to have

 

Billy Boyd, Matt Wood, Warwick Davis were all really nice and took time to have a laugh and talk to you.

 

Met some great people off here, had a great time and was really good to put names to faces

 

The stalls were ok, yeah they were all very repetitive and it was the same old crowd. The guys selling the bootlegs made me laugh, the guys had balls the size of bowling balls, blatantley selling dodgy DVD`s at an event the studio`s were at.

 

 

Bad Points

 

I have to agree the photos were a joke.

 

Adam Baldwin no Full Metal Jacket or Predator 2 pics

 

Xander Berkley no T2 or Heat pics

 

Ron Perlman 1 Blade 2 pic and 5 Beauty & the beast???? WTF

 

Val Kilmer 1 Heat pic & 2 bad Top Gun pics the other were all batman

 

Did anybody think that people going to a FILM convention may want to meet characters of CULT FILMS???

 

You have no idea how angry I was when they had no pictures from thier main movies. It took about 5 minutes for me to stop shaking that anybody could have such a massive gap in common sense.I still can`t work out in any logical way who decides on these photo`s and the quantities??? I think I must have saved at least £200 from the the dreadful choices. Billy Boyd had some great LOTR shots and the 2 Hellboy shots Ron had were good. I can only really comment on the peoples I saw I didnt bother with the other guests.Some of the photo choices are just complete s*** and im sure as I am writing this are being shreaded so the stall holders can use them as packing stuffers.

 

All I have to say is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sort it out before CM8. How about having a pinned thread where the fans can submit the photos. If you cant do them at least then you will have an idea. Then the complete photo f*** up that has happened at many a show may stop.

 

The Val situation sucked but I really believe it wasn`t anybodys fault

 

All in all, to be fair it was not the best event I have been to, but I have faith the next one will be better and this was just a glitch. I know for a fact SM have asked certain people for ideas and hopefully things will change all for the better.

Edited June 26, 2005 by Dom

[MikeDonovan]

Hmmmm. I would certainly agree that this wasn't the most amazing SM event I have ever been too, but it was OK.

 

 

Guest Line-Up - 3/10

The only guest there that held any interest for me was Kate Mulgrew - although I'm sure that others had many other people to see. However, the guest list was a bit mediocre all in all - and I agree that Val not turning up was a downer (although we cant blame SM for that). I certainly think a few more guests were needed. And as for the 'jugs corner' with Kittie Klaw etc. - I mean seriously - what was the point of that? So all in all I have to give this a low score, even though I was very pleased to meet Cap'n Katie!

 

Guest Friendliness - 7/10

Again, only one guest I saw on the day, and no complaints there, so I'll give this a high score.

 

Guest Photographs - 1/10

We're talking about the free ones right? Well, I tend to bring my own. But yes I agree - they are uniformly mediocre - that seems to be the prevailing opinion.

 

Crew Friendliness - 8/10

Crew Usefullness 8/10

I had no problems with the crew at all - what few questions I did ask were dealt with fine.

 

Venue - 9/10

The venue is great - In all honesty though I don't think the event is quite big enough for it.

 

Catering - 6/10

Seemed all right to me....

 

"Getting in" (transport information, queue speed etc) - 8/10

Yep - seemed great.

 

Stalls - 5/10

Didn't buy anything! But there was a lot of stuff, and the dealers were friendly.

 

Things to do - 3/10

Agreed there wasn't that much to do if you were waiting around.

 

Seriously SM - don't take it too badly - the event was fine - I just think a few more guests would have been better. Nothing wrong with the crew or the venue. It was a good morning though - already looking forward to CM 8 (where hopefully I'll have more to do - deffo going for Gates McFadden, and prob 2 or 3 others!). The good thing about CM is that being where it is there is huge amounts to do. When you do LFACC, you need to offset that a bit by offering attendees other stuff - just something to think about for LFACC4.

Edited June 26, 2005 by MikeDonovan

[Centurius]

Guest Friendliness - 9/10 and Guest Photographs - 6/10

Ok, my first event and I have to say I really enjoyed most of it, but there were, as pointed out, a few things that left a lot to be desired.

 

Some of the guests were fantastic (Warwick, Xander, Sarah, Jeff Wayne and Doug to be exact). Doug Bradley had a chat and a laughwth me, signed his book and then got up and pateintly stood there while my girlfriend worked out how to put the camera back onto taking stills, taking it very good naturedly and was more than happy to pose. He referred to me by name several times. All for £10, which included the price of his book. For £20 I got a half-hearted smile, a tiny scrawl and was hurried through Charisma extremely rudely (staff problem, not Charisma who at least tried a smile).

 

Jeff Wayne was similar. He not only personalised my poster but he got up and took me behind the desk to get a posed photo. Same story with Xander and Sarah. They both signed (and personlaised) the pic of Mason looking across the table at Nina. Both of them were very chatty and posed for photos. Warwick (my first auto at an event) was chatty, witty and got up and posed for a pic with me almost gladly, even though his family were there.

 

Ron pearlman seemed completely dis-interested in me and the event in general.

 

Billy Boyd seemed a really nice bloke, ok, so no posed photos but it was obviously to get people through quicker (none of this no-flash nonsence). The staff around him were cheerful and informative- they were hurrying people through but in a gentle way. Billy himself was cheerful and had he not had such an astoundingly long queue when I went up I'm sure he would have posed and chatted.

 

 

Crew Friendliness - 7/10

Some of the crew around Charisma just seemed rude and to be honest clueless as to how to handle people in general. I felt rushed and hounded all the way through, I was rushed in got a tiny scrawl and then was hounded away, despite the fact my girlfriend was getting an auto just behind me we managed three extremely blurred pics. With Billy we got three-four decent pics, non-blurred and we only had one auto to take pictures with. Charisma looked up and smiled for me but some idiot behind me knocked into me in what I can only describe as a moronic attempt to speed me up and get me away, despite obviously being with the girl getting her photo signed.

 

Other than that the girl who gave us the Ron Pearlman photo (fraggle rock does indeed rule if you're reading this) was very friendly and Billy's crew deserve a special mention for being the complete opposite of the ones around charisma. They kept us moving politely and sensibly.

 

Crew Usefullness

I didn't really need any help so I can't realy comment here.

 

 

Venue and Getting in

My hotel was visible from the venue 9anyone who queued will remember the HOTEL IB... on a big building in front of them), and there was a tube station across the road, with another one 2 minutes walk away. The venue was airy and cool with plenty of space. Getting in once the doors opened was quick and efficient so very well done there. Overall the venue (and choice of it) was a good one.

 

Catering - 4/10

Lousy, but then it was Earls Court so I expected it to be overpriced crap. We ate out but Lisa did grab a bacon sandwich. Otherwise unappetising. Hardly SM's fault, and there was plenty in the surrounding area.

 

Stalls - 4/10

All a bit samey, but we did grab a few bargains. Spent nearly £250 in there so something must have ben right! Jeff Wayne's stall was fantastic and I grabbed a couple of bargains from the Forbidden Planet one. Lack of any real variety let the rest down.

 

Things to do - 0/10 yes, nought

Was there anything to do? I got 2xBilly, 2xCharisma and also Warick and 2xJeff Wayne before 12:30 (I only started queueing outside at 8am too) and then was thoroughly bored. The stalls lacked variety, I was harassed several times by some bimbo touting win some phone nonsence and the Fantastic 4/Night watch stall was awful. The guys running it just stood there and talked amongst themselves (or so it seemd when I went past several times).

 

I was expecting lots of promotions, things to do and see, promotional freebies etc. Not just a bag of ads with a fre EpIII sticker book.

 

 

 

I know this seems like a long-winded moan, but I did enjoy the event a great deal. From what I read here this was't a good example of how good the shows can be so I'll look forward to the next one!

 

Edited June 26, 2005 by Centurius

[JOLLYWOOD]

poeple this was a good event and c8 will be good as well there only got to be a few great guests to make any event good...so stop the moaning and get a life ..............

 

Edit: Please mind the language content - thanks

Edited June 26, 2005 by Nighthawk

[captain chaos]

^^^^WTF everyone is entitled to there opinion and i for one pretty much agree with the most part. However i went for the Voyager guests, val and grace. Bit of luck showmasters will get the no shows all to c8 with tricia. If you disagree please state why you disagree not just bulls**t man

[memyselfandher]

bulls***..get a life man

As much as i'd like to say to you "everyone has a right to their own view

 

point" GOOD ONE!!!!!!!! ha ha ha ha ha!

[jacksparrowsmistress]

one more comment from me that I forgot before, more seating would be great. I spent quite a bit of time hanging around waiting for friends that were queuing to meet guests or in talks and apart from 1 small area, there was no-where to sit down and relax. There was a limit to how many times I could walk around and around the stalls and didnt want to sit on the floor. It's such a large venue, there was so much open space, I'm sure this could be accommodated.

[Manbeast]

The only reason i went was to get out of the house, The actual travel and entry cost me £21 which is a bargin; Considering i could of just sat in front of the computer all day.

 

This was my first london con (Been to most of the collectormanias) I prefered the space of the hall but i agree it seemed like all the space wasnt been used.

[Centurius]

It does seem that people ahd a varied experience. I was one of the unlucky ones who did have a few bad experiences, but then I went to make a weekend of it, not realising there would be very little (other than shopping) to do. Next time I'll just go on the Saturday.

[mistaken_plane]

I think, in terms of pictures, theyve been poor for a few events now, and I find it is always best and saftest to buy your own beforehand, to be safe.

[MikeDonovan]

poeple this was a good event and c8 will be good as well there only got to be a few great guests to make any event good...so stop the moaning and get a life ..............

Hmmmm......

Edited June 26, 2005 by Nighthawk

[Daniel Jackson]

Hi everyone,

 

Just got back from the event and it was my first one ever.

 

Have to say I was a bit dissapointed with the line-up of guests as there was only one I wanted to meet (Adam Baldwin)

The talk tickets had all gone by the time i got there and I thought they would have been held in a larger space to accomadant more people!! The back of the place was empty yet the talks took place in a tiny alcove which looked to seat about 80 people, considering the talks are all free it would have been nice to have been able to attend one!

The stalls were good but this was my first time and if it the same everytime then i could see how it would get boring.....(still alot of crap being sold also bit like a boot sale!)

 

I HAVE TO SAY THE MOST UPSETTING THING FOR ME WAS NO SERENITY TRAILER/BOOTH OR ANYTHING AT ALL, WHAT A LET DOWN.

 

 

Food was ok but too pricey, (bfriend hated the food but he is a fussy eater )

 

Travel was easy and entrance very cheap indeed.

Skimpy dressed women was good, and K.I.T.T was cute

 

Overall it was a bit of a let down for me but a nice day out, just glad I didn't have to travel too far for it.

[Dom]

The Sausage & Bacon roll was good.

 

The Brie & Tomato sanwhich was not brilliant (posh health freak food)

 

Did not try the proper restaraunt

[Daniel Jackson]

I was in the proper resterant if thats what you call it!! LOL

[Mcfly]

Guest list was ok got to see who I wanted to except Val

 

Guests were pleasent even got a pick with Charisma and Billy before they stopped on saturday.

 

I had loads of time to talk to the comic book guys got loads of sketches

 

Food and Coffee was good but pricey

 

Very roomy could of had a few more stalls (oops) all in all I had a good day.

Edited June 26, 2005 by Mcfly

[MikeDonovan]

could of had a few more stools

Well, to be fair there were toilet facilities provided

[lee_c00per]

I have very mixed feeling about this event:

 

The Venue: Perfect!!!! I am glad that they are going to be here from now on. There was much more room (with lots left over) i wasn't touching shoulders with everyone else there, which was nice.

 

Freebies: I thought that the freebies were alright. I got a star wars sticker album and then got the stickers to go with it ( two packs were given to each person who attended the Matthew Wood Talk) I don't understand why they were giving out free matches? Not very safe me thinks

 

Guests: Like everyone else, i was dissapointed. I kind of thought that Val Kilmer wouldn't show up, so i didn't count him. I don't think that Warick Davis should have been charing £15 as Billy Boyd was £15 aswell. He was very nice though. The person that made my day was Matthew Wood. He took the time to talk to you, he asked how you would like your photo signed ( ALTHOUGH HE PUT LCFF05 ON IT WHICH I DIDN'T WANT, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO CTY OVER IT. DID HE DO THIS TO EVERYONE?)

I didn't even see half of the writers/ artists that were scheduled and i nly saw one of the models (in her devil suit) Collectormania 8 already seems to have a better line up, so i'm staying hopeful

 

Talks: The Billy Boyd one was cool. He was quite funny and like to joke with the audience. He talked about how he got a tatoo with the other cast members to make sure that never forget the time they had on LOTR, which was very funny. Cool guy, really down to earth.

 

The Matthew Wood talk was really good. He started by talking about the creation of Grievous, saying that it took two years to design and make him and how he came to do the voice. He said that the coughing came from his own coughing which Lucas told him to keep in the film and that some of the coughing was done by lucas himself.

He did a really cool demonstration of the voice on his laptop and using a microphone, it sounded really cool ( just like Grievous' ) Someone asked what he and Lucasfilm thought of Jar Jar Binks. He laughed and just said that well Lucas' kids and other Kids liked it, but he kind of admitted that he didn't like him atall. Also, Wood said that he was the one who played Bib Fortuna in Episode 1, i didn't say anything as i thought that it could end up in a very long conversation.

 

 

Overall i thought that the event was OK and i am sure that Showmasters will make it better for next time

[tweetie]

just got back and this was my first event

 

I thought it was brillant met Kate and Garrett and spent too much. Wish i had seen Val but if the story about the stalker is true then maybe it was for the best he was not there.

 

Food was a bit pricey and wanted to go to the star trek talk but sold out even when i got there at 11.00am. Oh well. Saw Billy Boyd

Edited June 26, 2005 by tweetie

[Poppy]

i really enjoyed the event and I liked the stalls. I agree with jacksparrowmistress - a few more seating areas would be a good idea.

 

I met Billy, and he was FANTASTIC.

 

I also met Ron Perlman, who seemed like a lovely bloke.

 

There are two main criticisms ; why was Billy's talk so early? There was flooding in my area and I could not get there in time. I was gutted I missed the talks. They should be in the afternoon. especially as most people in the morning are rushing to get tickets etc.

 

There should always always be a photograph of the guest as themselves. I asked for a Huck Finn photo for Ron Perlman, but there was none. Then I had no other option but to get a Hellboy photograph, which I did not really want. There should always be a nice, recent photo of the guest as themselves. That way, anyone who is unsure can just get that. I can see that that will solve quite a few problems.

[MikeDonovan]

There should always always be a photograph of the guest as themselves. I asked for a Huck Finn photo for Ron Perlman, but there was none. Then I had no other option but to get a Hellboy photograph, which I did not really want. There should always be a nice, recent photo of the guest as themselves. That way, anyone who is unsure can just get that. I can see that that will solve quite a few problems.

Actually I wholeheartedly agree with this. Take Kate Mulgrew for instance - would it really be that bad to have ONE picture of her that wasn't as Captain Janeway? I seriously think there should be a non-character pic there for everyone.

[jacksparrowsmistress]

There should always always be a photograph of the guest as themselves. I asked for a Huck Finn photo for Ron Perlman, but there was none. Then I had no other option but to get a Hellboy photograph, which I did not really want. There should always be a nice, recent photo of the guest as themselves. That way, anyone who is unsure can just get that. I can see that that will solve quite a few problems.

I agree, Billy's done other things since LOTR, it would have been nice to have had one of him as himself rather than just the LOTR ones. Last time I got a nice one of Craig Parker as himself which was better than the Haldir pics they had.