Thoughts From Sunday/Reflections on the Weekend

[Psychosis]

Actually, OMG, one thing. The red balance on my photos is really high. Some of you may have seen my already very red hair... OMG at how bright it is in the photos And LOL at my photo with Julie McNiven, who's also a redhead.

 

Lovely photos though, even if I do gape at my hair colour.

[Banished_From_Rohan]

maybe they should put a small table inside the photoshoot area at the back so you can drop your bag there, have your photo pick it up and go?

 

I'm afraid that due to the layout, plus the sheer numbers of people going through in some cases, that wouldn't be possible.

 

On the subject of photoshoots can I thank everyone who had a photo done in area A today for their patience, understanding, general good humour, ability to queue in snakey lines properly and for making my duty sorting the queues out very easy. Hope you all enjoyed it :)

[adriangill]

On the subject of photoshoots can I thank everyone who had a photo done in area A today for their patience, understanding, general good humour, ability to queue in snakey lines properly and for making my duty sorting the queues out very easy. Hope you all enjoyed it :)

The one thing in the UK that we excel at - the ability to queue

 

p.s. no offence intended as I know quite a few who attend are from other worldly regions!

 

 

 

I only have one concern about the show and that's to do with bags at the photo shoots. I find this new system of bags going on to a table and being moved up a lot riskier than the previous raffle ticketed version as anyone could swipe the end bag off the table because the crew supervising won't know who's bag is who's. Having just bought a new SLR camera I was very concerned with leaving it on that table in that busy area especially when it was at the end just before I came out. Maybe I'm just more concerned about this due to having a new camera but I would wonder what would happen if someone's bag was stolen. I know it says you leave your bags there at own risk but you can't take them into the photo shoot either so what do you do? Is there any way of changing this system to make it a little more secure especally for people who can't put their valuables anywhere else?

I think the system works great. However today I was concerned with Photoshoot area B. Due to the table layout some of the bags ended up being out of view of the crew members line of sight. I had a number of photoshoots in that area over the two days and only once was there a crew member stood by the bags at the exit when I came out. The exit which was right next to a main walkway for the 'general public'. I know bags etc are left at our own risk but you do feel more secure when a crew member is stood by them constantly. No concerns at area A as the exit/collection point was not really by a main walkway plus there were always plenty of crew within eyeline of the bags

[BeatrixKiddo88]

The non-ticket system seems to work well at other events, it was just with so many people moving so quick today it seemed a bit 'riskier'

 

I managed to catch Jason today at the Gran Torino stand and personally said thank you (something I like to do these days) so just to reiterate:

 

AMAZING event!!! Had a great weekend as always. Met everyone I wanted and they were all very lovely and chatty.

 

All the busyness was handled well (as SM have always done when I've been there) and the public contained themselves and didnt rush around and charge for VQ tickets for Barrowman.

 

All in all, great weekend. Cant wait for the next one (dates where in the program)

 

 

Also I asked Jason about the program dates, and the 14th-16th dates for CM MK are WRONG. The poster is the right dates (bank holiday weekend)

[snedders]

Well got home around 9pm sunday.So Tired, but all worth it.

I had a fantastic time.

Venue was Superb

Met George Takei, David Soul, Billy Dee Williams, Robert Englund.

A big thanks to the Star Warriors and the 99th and all the showmasters team for a great day.

 

 

Spidey had a great time too.

[Emelso]

Big thanks to SM had a lovely day!

 

John Barrowman - I adore you! What a lovely guy - made everyone feel special even though he had a HUGE queue - a real trooper!

 

Bronson - what a sweet dude - he was a great laugh and really enjoyed the talk despite the poor guy being on his lonesome!

 

Got some great stuff and liked the venue lots!

 

Talk seating plan was a bit odd but I won't grumble

[i_am_your_angel_of_music]

Had the most awesome weekend!!!! Met misha, neil, brian, shannen and of course Barrowman at lastttt!!!! and they were all so cool!!!

 

Thanks for a really good event SM!

[adriangill]

I had such a great time today! Went back just for the Star Trek talk, and it was great. I could listen to George talk forever! And I got to ask a question :)

I think George could happily talk forever. I recall at Midlands duing his talk not many questions were asked realtive to the time, due to his self-admitted length replies. Extremely interesting replies I might add. If we do get a Trek con (is that a song I hear?) then George has to be on the guest list!

[18blue78]

Great time today, even better then yesterday.

 

Was amazing meeting the 3 rugby players, JPR Williams, Phil Bennet and Gareth Edwards. They were happy to chat and pose for photos.

 

Johnny Nelson was a genuinely nice guy, happy to spend some time talking.

 

Quote of the day has to go to Dave MacKay. After he signed a photo of him grabbing Billy Bremner he said to me "We kissed and made up after this photo was taken." Classic.

 

Garrick Hagon looked really happy to meet people. Got to say he has one of the most beautiful signatures I've ever seen. My picture of Biggs looks really cool.

 

Great atmosphere there toady. Not as busy as Saturday, but I think that made it a better. Well done Show Masters, amazing event.

[pdt1984]

I didn't pop in for too long, but I really enjoyed what I was there for... Met Steve Blum (Who did the Wolverine voice) and John Rhys-Davies (Who seemed a bit down today, poor fella), and went to the JRD and Star Trek talks, both of which were great. Not bad for a fiver!

 

Oh, and it was a really good venue for this sort of thing - at previous CMs and LFCC I've felt a bit harrassed and crowded; nothing like that here. Something to think about, perhaps?

[etmuse]

Had a much more relaxed day than I thought I was going to - didn't get there until later than I'd had liked (due to the earliest train from my house on Sundays not really being very early), so thought the Barrowman VTs might be pretty high by the time I got there - was pleasantly surprised to get just 111 (IIRC)!

 

Went and got snooker players' autos (Virgo just could NOT figure out how to spell my name, even though it's only 4 letters) and then Neil Roberts, who was a blast and asked ME if I wanted a photo taken. There weren't many people going to him when I went though, so I think he was just happy to chat for as long as we had!

 

Queuing in both photo shoot areas was going really smoothly, I thought.

 

Went through and got a lovely hug from John Barrowman (can't say I was /too/ disappointed that Malcolm asked me to just stay there for about 10-15 seconds while he decided if the photo was good or not...) I do look about 14 in the photo, but I think that's mostly cos I don't even reach his chin!

 

Already had a few photos done with Kai, so spent the time between John's photo and his deciding on a fun pose to ask him for (which he was right up for, as expected - gotta love that guy).

 

Went back over to area A and lingered until we could start queuing for Shannen (thanks for being so nice to those of us persistently 'lingering with intent to queue'!) - while waiting for the shoot to actually start got a text from my friend upstairs monitoring the JB VT situation so knew I could go straight up as soon as I was done with Shannen.

 

I was early enough, therefore, to get in before John had stopped personalising - and had a nice chat about his last night in La Cage as he did so. He must have been exhausted but - at least when I went - you'd hardly have known it from his attitude.

 

Arrived BACK down in photo A and got myself another photoshoot hug, this time from the lovely Brian Krause.

 

Last thing of the day, the Torchwood talk. I expected it to be a riot with those three, and it didn't disappoint. I'm not going to be able to get High School Musical out of my head for ages now, though (probably get it out just in time to go to John and Gareth's pantos and get it back in again!)

 

Also pleasantly surprised at the speed of the photos getting back - thought I might have to wait until nearly 5 to get my Brian photo back but got them all pretty much as soon as I was out of the TW talk.

 

This was my first Collectormania, and I had a brilliant experience. Every single guest that I talked to was lovely (even some of the people others have said were a bit abrupt) and once actually there I didn't have any moments where I worried I might not get what I'd come for.

 

I thought I'd have a bit of trouble given that I had 16 guests on my auto list - including several of the highly popular ones, 6 photoshoots and 3 paid talks (and ended up at another free one too), but I really didn't.

 

Looking forward to my next event!

[adriangill]

Went and got snooker players' autos (Virgo just could NOT figure out how to spell my name, even though it's only 4 letters)

Great bloke and Dennis as well. Had a nice chat to both of them. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised as I had thought/feared that not many people would go and see them but I never saw them sat there on their own. Maybe everyone is a secret snooker fan. I mentioned that I had met them to a couple of people tonight. Self proclaimed snooker haters....who appeared more than slightly jealous that I had met them!

 

Steve Davis next please!

[StarryKat]

I kind of wish I'd taken the opportunity to meet Dennis, my parents always mention him to me as he'd won the snooker a couple of nights before I was born so I've always regarded him fondly and loved his glasses, bless.

Edited November 30, 2009 by StarryKat

[Stenun]

I have to give a BIG shout out to John Rhys Davies, even though I didn't meet him!

 

My friend is a big fan so went up to meet John Rhys Davies and as Mr Davies was signing the photo he asked my friend what he did for a living. My friend replied that he works with kids who have been excluded from school, helping them read and write. Upon hearing this, Mr Davies grabbed another Gimli photo off the table, asked the name of the place my mate worked and promptly wrote on the photo "I went to [the name of the place my mate works] and now I can reed and right [sic] and KILL ORCS!", then signed it and gave it to my mate absolutely free of charge. :-)

 

Absolutely marvellous of him, complete and utter respect to him. My mate's already planning on getting it framed and putting it up in his classroom. :-)

 

John Rhys Davies = very nice guy. Fact.

[adriangill]

I kind of wish I'd taken the opportunity to meet Dennis, my parents always mention him to me as he'd won the snooker a couple of nights before I was born so I've always regarded him fondly and loved his glasses, bless.

Thanks...feeling old now...I watched the final that night!

[StarryKat]

Mr Davies grabbed another Gimli photo off the table, asked the name of the place my mate worked and promptly wrote on the photo "I went to [the name of the place my mate works] and now I can reed and right [sic] and KILL ORCS!", then signed it and gave it to my mate absolutely free of charge. :-)

 

Wow, that is really nice of him and such a nice thing to do. My estimation of Mr Davies has gone up 100% fold. I love hearing about stars doing things like these, especially as I'm sure your friend has a tough job!

 

 

Sorry 10f2, I didn't mean to make anyone feel old! I guess it wouldn't help if I said I was 24? Not that my age matters, haha.

Edited November 30, 2009 by StarryKat

[chris_mk]

I have to give a BIG shout out to John Rhys Davies, even though I didn't meet him!

 

My friend is a big fan so went up to meet John Rhys Davies and as Mr Davies was signing the photo he asked my friend what he did for a living. My friend replied that he works with kids who have been excluded from school, helping them read and write. Upon hearing this, Mr Davies grabbed another Gimli photo off the table, asked the name of the place my mate worked and promptly wrote on the photo "I went to [the name of the place my mate works] and now I can reed and right [sic] and KILL ORCS!", then signed it and gave it to my mate absolutely free of charge. :-)

 

Absolutely marvellous of him, complete and utter respect to him. My mate's already planning on getting it framed and putting it up in his classroom. :-)

 

John Rhys Davies = very nice guy. Fact.

 

He is an absolute legend!!!! At a previous SM event, my friend went to see him with her young kids. They pointed at him and shouted 'it's Gimli', at which point he put on his best dwarfish accent and played up for them, before sitting them on his table for a photo and spending time talking to them in character.

[7 of 9]

Great Show - Great Event and Reality Bites this morning!!

 

Showmasters congrats on another great show with great guests.

Suggestions for next year - can we use the sitting area when not in use to eat our lunch or rest our legs and arms from shopping instead of the floor!!! We need a proper sitting area chill out zone.

 

Star trek guests- they were all fantastic!!! They took the time to talk to the fans and remembered you all too!! They were so lovely and easy to talk to and made you feel special!! The Star Trek talk was fantastic with great stories and wonderful memories that they shared with the fans :-) Thank you alll so much you made our weekend :-) WE LOVE YOU GUYS see you at the Star Trek con - come one Showmasters PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Steve Blum- what a cool dude - EXCELLENT BUB!!! A real surprise and what a nice guy!!! Great talk and took time to talk to everyone and did the voices for you too!! Dude we loved you and would love to meet you again please come back to another CM!!!!

 

John Barrowman - what a trooper - he worked so hard!!! Would have loved more time to tell him stuff but little time and was a bit star struck!!! The talk was excellent and very funny loved the singing guys!!! Please bring him back would love to meet him again PLEASE!!!!

 

Klingons photoshoot - guys you were brilliant= how about a photo shoot with you guys and Chancellor Gowron and General Martok at CM16 = you would make alot for a great charity and everyone would want one!!! Klingon feast too!!!!!

 

A great weekend that I did not want to end and can not wait until CM16 in May 2010!!!

 

 

I had such a great time today! Went back just for the Star Trek talk, and it was great. I could listen to George talk forever! And I got to ask a question :)

I think George could happily talk forever. I recall at Midlands duing his talk not many questions were asked realtive to the time, due to his self-admitted length replies. Extremely interesting replies I might add. If we do get a Trek con (is that a song I hear?) then George has to be on the guest list!

 

 

1 of 2

 

I hear your song on Unimatrix Zero

 

George was wonderfull I could listen his stories all day about the original series!!

 

Star Trek Con yes please!!! Guests - Sulu (new and orginal), Odo, Spock (new and original), Quark, Leeta, Capt Sisko, Uhura (new and original), Capt Kirk?????, Capt Janeway and her crew and everyone else!!!!

 

PLEASE SHOWMASTERS!!!!!!

[TheViolentMessiah]

Great layout with the event and very nice building, if so very far away, three trains a bus and a car for us to make a five hour journey.

But I was surprised and annoyed by Marcus' appearance.

 

All the guests were really friendly, the most of any other convention I've been too. I had a great time.

[Persephone1]

One other comment I had was about the "No photos/no videoing" rule. I know that most often this request comes from the guests themselves rather than Showmasters but sometimes the rule just doesn't make sense.

 

Now I can understand the rule being in place for a busy guest like say John Barrowman on Sunday but poor Julie Niven was incredibly quiet on Sunday - I mean i had a friend working down that end of the hall so kept popping back to see her and poor Julie was just sat there with absolutely noone going up to her. So I asked if my friend could have a photo with her and the response was that she couldn't because she had done a photo session. I mean Julie was adorably apologetic about it but it just seemed ridiculous that she was sat there with noone waiting to see her and yet there was still a no photos rule especially when the actress herself wasn't happy with it. And Gareth and Kai were posing for photos with whoever wanted them even thought they had photo sessions too. I like the proper photo sessions but they shouldn't be the only option to get a photo with the quieter guests.

[MinkyKnights]

I think that, sometimes, actors blaming Showmasters for not allowing over-the-desk photos is just a handy way to avoid coming off as 'the bad guy/gal'. I'm pretty sure that, while Showmasters does impose rules for busier guests (when time is of the essence), it's up to everyone else to decide what they're comfortable with. Of course, "sorry but I'm not allowed" sounds better than "sorry but I don't want to". In Julie's case, Persephone1, is it possible that she wasn't happy posing for a pic without you buying an autograph? (I couldn't tell from your post whether this was the case, so forgive me if it wasn't.)

 

I was one of the first people to meet Gareth on Saturday (I was third or fourth in his queue when he arrived), and the person in front of me asked him if she could get a photo with him. Gareth asked his crew member whether it was okay and was told that it was up to him. He decided that he'd "better not", as he was doing a paid photo session later in the day. I don't know whether that decision lasted all day, and by the sound of things he was happy to pose for pics at some point over the weekend. It sounded very much like it was his decision, though, either way.

 

I imagine that the reasoning behind guests' decisions not to pose varies. Some probably don't want to give away something to certain people that others are paying for (even if the quality of the professional pics is greater). Some might not like the thought of over-the-desk shots turning up on forums and social networking sites, for whatever reason. Others probably don't want flashes in their faces all day.

 

I often watch the queues to gauge what each guest is allowing before diving in myself. It's not always possible, though. I don't like being the guinea pig, but I hope that it helps someone else who's had the same idea as me. "After you..." "No, no, after you!"

[phil9290]

I had such a great day! All the guests I met were really nice and I was impressed by the organisation of everything, especially with handling john Barrowman's popularity. I thought all the crew were friendly. It was so nice seeing people I've met at previous events, plus meeting new people.

[Persephone1]

I think that, sometimes, actors blaming Showmasters for not allowing over-the-desk photos is just a handy way to avoid coming off as 'the bad guy/gal'. I'm pretty sure that, while Showmasters does impose rules for busier guests (when time is of the essence), it's up to everyone else to decide what they're comfortable with. Of course, "sorry but I'm not allowed" sounds better than "sorry but I don't want to". In Julie's case, Persephone1, is it possible that she wasn't happy posing for a pic without you buying an autograph? (I couldn't tell from your post whether this was the case, so forgive me if it wasn't.)

 

I was one of the first people to meet Gareth on Saturday (I was third or fourth in his queue when he arrived), and the person in front of me asked him if she could get a photo with him. Gareth asked his crew member whether it was okay and was told that it was up to him. He decided that he'd "better not", as he was doing a paid photo session later in the day. I don't know whether that decision lasted all day, and by the sound of things he was happy to pose for pics at some point over the weekend. It sounded very much like it was his decision, though, either way.

 

My friend had already bought an auto with Julie and Julie said she wasn't allowed to do photos purely because she had done a paid photo session. I agree that the guests is hardly going to say - "no I don't want to pose for a photo" but she seemed very genuine and was all aggrieved that her photo session was so early it mean noone paying standard entry could get a photo with her.

 

Gareth and Kai were posing for photos whether behind the desk or wandering around with whoever wanted them on Sunday- I saw Kai encouraging girls who were too nervous to go up and see him to come and get a

photo with him.

[darthnad]

AWESOME weekend!

 

Every guest I met was lovely, although Billy Dee Williams seemed a little distant or maybe just tired, he was still really nice and a pleasure to meet.

 

Highlights:

 

Heather Langenkamp - what an amazingly lovely woman! And hasn't aged a day in 20 odd years too! Gpt a lovely photo with her.

 

Katherine Isabelle - again, amazingly lovely and we had a nice chat about ginger snaps which is one of my all time favourites, and the picture of her staged death on the fence.

 

Robert Englund - genuinely great guy, friendly, talkative, funny and passionate about horror movies and his work. Always an absolute pleasure to meet, and seemed happy about the poster I had to get signed as he got to sign heather's chest lol.

 

John Barrowman - only met briefly for the photoshoot as the auto queue was mega, but he was friendly and gave me a really nice big squeeze - an added bonus was the photographer needign to take an extra shot so I got to stand hugging JB for twice as long as it should've took - no complaints here!!

 

All the Star Wars guests - all were friendly, talkative, happy to pose for photos and seemed genuinely happy to meet the fans

 

Talks - enjoyed all of them, although the seating arrangements for the Torchwood talk I was not happy with to be honest. The queue system was awful, sprawling everywhere and two seperate queues meaning one set of us were queuing for 20 mins in the wrong place and then ended up on the back of a massive queue. Then the seating was all over the place. My tickets were booked as soon as tehy came out online. I got row K, my friend bought hers on the day and got row G ?! My two friends who bought theirs together were 5 rows apart as well. Could've been done a lot better.

 

But otherwise no grumbles, everything was super.

 

Really, really great weekend.

[MinkyKnights]

I agree that the guests is hardly going to say - "no I don't want to pose for a photo" but she seemed very genuine and was all aggrieved that her photo session was so early it mean noone paying standard entry could get a photo with her.

I do sometimes wonder whether certain guests think that having a paid photo sessions means that they shouldn't allow over-the-desk shots - as in it being a rule of the show. It's hard to know for sure what people's reasons are, though.

 

I saw Kai encouraging girls who were too nervous to go up and see him to come and get a photo with him.

Kai was all-round great: welcoming to all and up for anything.

Edited November 30, 2009 by MinkyKnights