Christoff Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I had a great weekend and happy there's going to be a next one, hopefully we'll see Chris, Craig and Norman at that one. Pros: The guests were great, funny and reasonably talkative. Danny doing his Cat meow for me and a friend while getting autographs. Danny doing more of his Cat impressions on stage as well as performing Tongue Tied. Hattie doing her Cat impression and hitting herself with her microphone on at least two occasions lol, and just generally being herself, VERY Holly-like Robert occasionally acting like Kryten and the Kryten factor, the dog food eating was rather amusing and disgusting to watch, the big dude shoving the little kid in the pillow fight was hilarious too, as were the boos he got for doing so. Finding out from Chloe, Robert and Danny that there's going to be a new series! Cons: Last minute guest cancellations, though that can't be helped. We didn't get to the convention until 11:30 on the Sunday due to not needing to be there until then as we only needed autographs from Craig and Danny, then found out Craig wasn't coming and we'd just missed out on the group photoshoot that was organised to make up for that Not being able to get hold of one of those Backwards Brothers posters Those awful puppet videos! The Bohemian Rhapsody video was reasonably amusing to watch, but got very repetitive after a while, and then the other videos after that were just embarrassing to watch, they really were bad and got boring. Conclusion: Good event, had a great time, enjoyed most of it (particularly the talks), just a little disappointing about the guest cancellations and missing the photoshoot. What did everyone else think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bl00djunkie Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 think? think? all the alchol killed my remaining cells..lol i think what you said summed it up really but you missed how great mac is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 think? think? all the alchol killed my remaining cells..lol i think what you said summed it up really but you missed how great mac is!! To be honest I can't really remember much of Saturday at the moment lol, but yes he was great, a better guest than I thought he would be actually They were all great though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crippsy_99 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) Those awful puppet videos! The Bohemian Rhapsody video was reasonably amusing to watch, but got very repetitive after a while, and then the other videos after that were just embarrassing to watch, they really were bad and got boring. Was it the ones made by the DJ's from other cons (Marwan, Karl, Jono etc)? If so, they went down very well at a convention run by a rival organiser back in April and no-one there thought that about them! And the proceeds of the dvd go to charity. Edited June 14, 2009 by crippsy_99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) Was it the ones made by the DJ's? If so, they went down very well at a convention run by a rival organiser back in April and no-one there thought that about them! And the proceeds of the dvd go to charity. I have no idea, I know me and the friend I went with weren't too impressed by them, they were good in small doses but when they did the long video today (Sunday) while waiting for the talk it got very annoying very quickly, I think pretty much everyone else felt the same, at least the people I could see. Edit: In the "Post your pics" thread this image shows one of the puppets from the videos: http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu162/a...74/29075BTL.jpg Edited June 14, 2009 by Christoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriangill Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Had a great time Pros: The guests were very entertaining, with interesting and funny talks. Nice to see Danny a day earlier than planned The unplanned group photo was a nice touch - thanks (and thanks to Chloe for taking part - she wasn't suposed to be there today!). Danny did a great job with his extended talk finishing off with an excellent performance of tongue tied. Well actually he finished off behind the screen but that's another story! I have to admit I did enjoy the Bohemian Rhapsody video I agree. Hattie is very Holly-like. With the addition of a neck, body, arms, legs, etc. Pretty much echoing Christoff's pros really and of course - The crew - as helpful and friendly as always Cons: A whole 13 months until the BTL2 I am off to ponder on how to explain to people why 'fish' is funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maegurwen Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Danny did a great job with his extended talk finishing off with an excellent performance of tongue tied. Well actually he finished off behind the screen but that's another story! And one that i shall always seem to remember I think i can sum it up in one word.. Brilliant The only con was traveling but thats a diffrent thing altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy1701 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) Had a great time Pros: The guests were very entertaining, with interesting and funny talks. Nice to see Danny a day earlier than planned The unplanned group photo was a nice touch - thanks (and thanks to Chloe for taking part - she wasn't suposed to be there today!). Danny did a great job with his extended talk finishing off with an excellent performance of tongue tied. Well actually he finished off behind the screen but that's another story! I have to admit I did enjoy the Bohemian Rhapsody video I agree. Hattie is very Holly-like. With the addition of a neck, body, arms, legs, etc. Pretty much echoing Christoff's pros really and of course - The crew - as helpful and friendly as always Cons: A whole 13 months until the BTL2 I am off to ponder on how to explain to people why 'fish' is funny I agree with the cons. Can't we move it forward. Maybe by about 13 months. I had a fantastic time and can't wait for the next one. Although I lost Gold 1 & 2 for next year. Still managed to get below 10. I'm gonna eat you little fishy, I'm gonna eat you little fishy, I'm gonna eat you little fishy coz I like little fish. Edited June 15, 2009 by Zippy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_mk Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Had a fun time, nice chilled out atmosphere. Favourite part was the guest encounter with Mac, who was awesome and really interesting and funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Was it the ones made by the DJ's? If so, they went down very well at a convention run by a rival organiser back in April and no-one there thought that about them! And the proceeds of the dvd go to charity. I have no idea, I know me and the friend I went with weren't too impressed by them, they were good in small doses but when they did the long video today (Sunday) while waiting for the talk it got very annoying very quickly, I think pretty much everyone else felt the same, at least the people I could see. Edit: In the "Post your pics" thread this image shows one of the puppets from the videos: http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu162/a...74/29075BTL.jpg LOL... didn't you recognise the voices?! The puppet was Jason (SM) and the cameraman was Shabs! I think the puppet was one of the props? Jason's house is like a museum I am off to ponder on how to explain to people why 'fish' is funny Fiiiish!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_dd Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Had a great weekend, this was my first Con but not my last. was a shame there were the last min cancelled quests but these things happen. thanks everyone for making me feel welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 LOL... didn't you recognise the voices?! The puppet was Jason (SM) and the cameraman was Shabs! I think the puppet was one of the props? Jason's house is like a museum Hmm, seems not lol, but I did think that one or 2 of them were from the prop display so I did think it was done by Showmasters people. Out of curiosity, were you the girl with DavidB over the weekend? I recognised him from his pics on here and thought I recognised you too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd737 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 PROS: highlight had to be Robert...he was sooooooooooooooo funny...loved his guest encounter...legend...Danny was also great - he did well to cover the gap left by Craig...and when he came on stage without out his shirt....WOW! more of that next time, eh!! CON: my only negative, and its the same for every con I buy a gold pass to, is the drinks reception...there has to be a better way of organising it...it just doesn't work...the space used, the way the guests are moved round...etc... I had a really great weekend, really relaxed and when something went wrong, SM did everything they could to lessen the sting...what more can we ask for - thank you showmasters and their excellent team... Any chance for the next con that we can have the Big Four for both days...would really love to see then all interact and feed off each other... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 Any chance for the next con that we can have the Big Four for both days...would really love to see then all interact and feed off each other... Me too, I'd also love to see the two Hollys together on stage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarfbabe Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Danny was also great - he did well to cover the gap left by Craig...and when he came on stage without out his shirt....WOW! more of that next time, eh!! Lots more of that next time please! my only negative, and its the same for every con I buy a gold pass to, is the drinks reception...there has to be a better way of organising it...it just doesn't work...the space used, the way the guests are moved round...etc... Maybe it could be held in the room where the party will be? That way, there'd be plenty of room for everyone and we'd be in the right place when it was time for the party to start. I had a really great weekend, really relaxed and when something went wrong, SM did everything they could to lessen the sting...what more can we ask for - thank you showmasters and their excellent team... Seconded. It's when things go wrong that you REALLY appreciate just how good SM/ME are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Out of curiosity, were you the girl with DavidB over the weekend? I recognised him from his pics on here and thought I recognised you too Yes I was! Or rather, he was with me lol Either is good (though I did help him with lifts lol) You should have come and said hi! Who were you? Not sure I've ever seen a pic of you? Tbh, I'm absolutely awful with putting names to faces unless I've met someone before- people must think I just ignore them, but I'm just useless! Saw a few faces I may have recognised, but as I said- I can never put 2 and 2 together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) You should have come and said hi! Who were you? Not sure I've ever seen a pic of you? Who was I? I was me lol, and no you won't have seen a pic of me I probably should've gone over and said hi to you and a couple of others I recognised but... didn't next time I will though Edited June 15, 2009 by Christoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isandhlwana Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Had a good week-end overall. Would tentatively come again but there should definately be reduced like-for-like ticket prices for those that bought one that attended this BTL. With Chris and Craig cancelling there MUST be substantial funds spare. PROs - The GUESTS - all were brilliant. Steve Wicks was obviously out gunned sometimes but he was very interesting to talk to and very friendly. Mucho thanks to Mac for turning up at the last minute. Great to have a quick chat with - really nice guy. Would have loved a longer chat at the Gold drinks. The queues were kept moving better than Chevron. Crew were very good and cheerful to the end. Ouroboros - nice touch. I smile everytime I think about it. CONs The hotel - it really is a God-awful place. Shabby, expensive and food choice - abysmal. BUT - good breakfasts. Choose one that is further north. Try around Birmingham - roughly the middle of the country. Not all fans come from London! The cancellations. Don't believe Chris cancelled at the last minute - he wasn't even on the autograph sheets!! Craig mmmmm - well, he is known for cancelling I believe!!! Gold Pass Drinks - saw Steve, Chloe and Hattie. Managed to meet Steve and Chloe. Badly organised. Crew not in useful evidence moving guests round. Chevron was better. Each time you chose a room that was too small and stuffy. Gold Pass - Definately NOT worth it. See last comment and top of page. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BTL2 - The top 4 + 2 Hollies + Mac + Chloe + Confidence + The Writers. This next comment is for both BTL and Chevron. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE arrange for the guests to appear in costume at the opening ceremony and /or the photo shoots. I know Kryten would be too much to ask (or would it?) but the rest would be easy and take them all of 5 minutes to change clothes. They frequently do this in Europe and the States, why not us. Let's face it if the guys were not in a show we loved there wouldn't even be a BTL. So, let's see them as they are in the show - that's what we watch, after all!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 You should have come and said hi! Who were you? Not sure I've ever seen a pic of you? Who was I? I was me lol, and no you won't have seen a pic of me I probably should've gone over and said hi to you and a couple of others I recognised but... didn't next time I will though Post your pic in the pics thread so I'll know for next time!! Need to stick mine in later... The cancellations. Don't believe Chris cancelled at the last minute - he wasn't even on the autograph sheets!! Craig mmmmm - well, he is known for cancelling I believe!!! I feel like I need to comment on this or there'll be an argument... Chris cancelled Thursday, right? The leaflets I believe were printed on Thursday, as a crew member told me. SM prob found out from him on the Weds and told us the next day- or maybe they had been trying to sort things with him for a while and had 2 versions of the leaflet- don't jump to conclusions. What good would it do them to fake announce a guest? Craig genuinely was ill as he had an evening radio show the night before and cancelled that last min too- and he said he'll 100% be at BTL 2 to make up for it. He's cancelled only once before at LFCC- and he still went, just heavily disguised in make up for a TV show about how people treat those with disfigurements! He went to LFCC, and the talk, and filmed the other cast's reactions. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE arrange for the guests to appear in costume at the opening ceremony and /or the photo shoots. I know Kryten would be too much to ask (or would it?) but the rest would be easy and take them all of 5 minutes to change clothes. They frequently do this in Europe and the States, why not us. Let's face it if the guys were not in a show we loved there wouldn't even be a BTL. So, let's see them as they are in the show - that's what we watch, after all!!! The cast aren't allowed to keep their costumes- and it is expensive to get hold of them/ replicas... and would prob be expensive to convince them to do it. They do it in America as they have tens of thousands of attendees to each con and they can afford it! This show had about 300 attendees... Yes, we watch the shows, but we should admire them as actors, not just their characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarfbabe Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Had a good week-end overall. Would tentatively come again but there should definately be reduced like-for-like ticket prices for those that bought one that attended this BTL. With Chris and Craig cancelling there MUST be substantial funds spare. Disagree that there should be reduced ticket prices. They brought in Mac at very short notice and brought Chloe back for an unscheduled group photo shoot that was never part of the original plan. The hotel - it really is a God-awful place. Shabby, expensive and food choice - abysmal. BUT - good breakfasts. Choose one that is further north. Try around Birmingham - roughly the middle of the country. Not all fans come from London! Didn't try the food at the hotel so can't comment on that. The hotel was a bit shabby but it is being renovated at the moment and so, by the time we're back there next year, it should be a lot better (fingers crossed). The cancellations. Don't believe Chris cancelled at the last minute - he wasn't even on the autograph sheets!! Craig mmmmm - well, he is known for cancelling I believe!!! The reason Chris wasn't on the autograph sheets was because SJ changed them at very short notice. Mac wasn't on there because she wasn't aware when she changed them and didn't find out until it was too late that he was attending. I've never heard of Craig cancelling before and know from personal experience (I've met him several times) that he loves doing these events and meeting his fans and so don't believe he would cancel unless there really was no option. Gold Pass Drinks - saw Steve, Chloe and Hattie. Managed to meet Steve and Chloe. Badly organised. Crew not in useful evidence moving guests round. Chevron was better. Each time you chose a room that was too small and stuffy. I managed to meet Steve and Hattie. Have suggested in an earlier post that it may have been better held in the room where they had the parties. Gold Pass - Definately NOT worth it. See last comment and top of page. I thought the Gold Pass was worth every penny I paid and more. You got six autographs which would have cost at least £10 each at a normal signing event (some may have been more) so that's £60, four individual photo shoots again at £10 value each so that brings it to £100 and then a group shot with a value of at least £25 so that's £125 altogether. Add into that the two parties plus the free drink and nibbles at the drinks reception and I think it was very good value. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE arrange for the guests to appear in costume at the opening ceremony and /or the photo shoots. I know Kryten would be too much to ask (or would it?) but the rest would be easy and take them all of 5 minutes to change clothes. They frequently do this in Europe and the States, why not us. Let's face it if the guys were not in a show we loved there wouldn't even be a BTL. So, let's see them as they are in the show - that's what we watch, after all!!! Don't really see the point of this. Personally, I go to events to see the people BEHIND the characters, not the characters themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoff Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 Don't really see the point of this. Personally, I go to events to see the people BEHIND the characters, not the characters themselves. I can see both sides of this argument, it's great to meet the people behind the characters but it'd also be great to meet the actual character, they are the ones we watch and grow to love after all. The fact that Robert and Danny occasionally got into their characters (not costumes but voices and actions) made it more enjoyable for me, as well as Hattie actually being just like her version of Holly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple_Vamp Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Yes I was! Or rather, he was with me lol Either is good (though I did help him with lifts lol) You should have come and said hi! Who were you? Not sure I've ever seen a pic of you? Tbh, I'm absolutely awful with putting names to faces unless I've met someone before- people must think I just ignore them, but I'm just useless! Saw a few faces I may have recognised, but as I said- I can never put 2 and 2 together! Ahhh - I would have said hello too when I said hi to David, but I didn't know it was you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurquoiseTrance Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 The only con was traveling but thats a diffrent thing altogether. Finally - an advantage to living mere minutes down the road from Bedford!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukedwarfer Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Well, I am back from Massive Events first ever Red Dwarf Weekend. As a weekend convention veteran and a mind of Red Dwarf facts, figures and history, I thought I would give my honest opinion and run down of the weekend. The High Points: The Organisation – Flawless. I have seen some right shams in my time but these guys really knew what they were doing. Everything was so smooth. Full marks here. The Atmosphere – Brilliant! Everyone was in high spirits! The guests – A good selection (except for the obvious cancellations, which they could do nothing about) and they were all very friendly Good use of initiative when Craig no showed by giving everyone a free group photoshoot. The Low Points The Saturday Party – 0 out of 10 here. The music was AWFUL. Most people disappeared to the bar as they gave up hope of their request being played. I even saw some bloke have a go at the clueless DJ for the poor effort he was making... Normally I would of stepped in but I have to say I thought he was justified in having a go. I know Massive Events are trying to save money, but my advice is to pay someone no more than £200 so we have a DJ that has some idea what they are doing. The guy working behind the bar says it was the worst DJ he had ever heard in the 3 years he had worked there. The guests cancelling – As I say, not really their fault, but it did upset a few people. So the burning question is…Could Showmasters/massive events put on an Unofficial Red Dwarf Convention that was better that the OFFICIAL Red Dwarf Fan club that has been running for years? And my verdict is: No they could not. Why? Well, despite the fact that there organisation is a million times better, they offer full professional photo shoots and the rather nice extras such as the Drinks reception, they just ballsed up the Saturday night party. This has historically been a dance floor filled extravaganza, with a fun filled atmosphere, and the highlight of the weekend. Most people in the bar downstairs were moaning that the music was crap (yet were having a good time drinking and playing pool anyway!!) and the dance floor barly had anyone on it all night. I had to laugh at the end of the night when the ‘DJ’ came on the mic and said ‘It had been a tough night and difficult to close the right tracks’ Well, I am no pro DJ (or maybe I am…) but my advice would be less rock and a mixture to cater for EVERYONE. To be fair, this was the first RD Con that Massive events have done, so I can understand that they didn’t quite match the official one, but they almost did, which is more than I thought they would. Get a half decent DJ next time and you are sorted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trekkiefan Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 To be fair, this was the first RD Con that Massive events have done, so I can understand that they didn’t quite match the official one, but they almost did, which is more than I thought they would. Get a half decent DJ next time and you are sorted! I was told that it was the same guy they had for the original Chevron 7 con and everybody hated him there. In fact some people who went to that con have never come back to ME. They got someone else for Chevron 7.2 who was way better, and I want to know what happened to him? If they got the other guy back the party would have gone alot better for loads of people. I also spoke to someone there who did DJs for weddings and he said some of the music that was played is guaranteed to clear the dance floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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