He’s Baaaaaack

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Like Douglas MacArthur, or perhaps last night’s lasagna, I have returned.

The entire family spent the weekend down at Dreamcon, a first time convention in Jacksonville. I don’t normally do first time cons, but Shana, my eldest daughter, lives in Jacksonville and the con was willing to fly the whole family down there, so why not? Overall, aside from a few glitches, the con was smoothly run although it didn’t draw as many people as I think anyone would have liked to see. Ron Perlman was the headliner. Met Mercedes McNab (hey, if Mercedes McNab moved to Massachusetts and married Julie “Darla” Benz, she’d be Mercedes Benz), Brian Thompson (the Judge who uttered the famous line, “What’s that do?” before being annihilated by Buffy with a rocket launcher). But the high point was seeing Jewel Staite again. Before playing an engineering genius on a spaceship in “Firefly,” she played an engineering genius on a spaceship on “Space Cases,” co-created by Bill Mumy and me. It’s wonderful to see people paying attention to this wonderful and up-and-coming actress.

After the convention, we went up to Disney and stayed there a few days. It was Caroline’s first exposure to the House of Mouse, and she spent it in two modes: Wide eyed or asleep (I guess the wide eyes helped make her tired.) Managed to hit the three major parks, not to mention our favorite hang out, the Adventurers Club. They’ve outdone themselves for the new novelty cup, by the way: Specialty drinks are now served in a purchasable carved wooden monkey head.

PAD

41 comments on “He’s Baaaaaack”

  1. Ah, “Space Cases.” I have fond memories of that show, but I won’t say how long ago for your sake.

    I am also perturbed that I don’t recall the “what kind of monster would space a perfectly good Earth bear” line. I have an extremely good memory, so I must have missed that episode; not that I would have gotten the joke then, having not been introduced to B5, but…

    Anyway. Space cases. Intelligent, humorous, and well-written. No surprise. And yes, Jewel Staite was fun to watch as Catalina. Any chance it’ll ever be released on DVD? *hopeful grin*

  2. Ah, “Space Cases.” I have fond memories of that show, but I won’t say how long ago for your sake.

    I am also perturbed that I don’t recall the “what kind of monster would space a perfectly good Earth bear” line. I have an extremely good memory, so I must have missed that episode; not that I would have gotten the joke then, having not been introduced to B5, but…

    Anyway. Space cases. Intelligent, humorous, and well-written. No surprise. And yes, Jewel Staite was fun to watch as Catalina. Any chance it’ll ever be released on DVD? *hopeful grin*

  3. Was that your first time seeing Jewel since Space Cases?

    I am so annoyed that I couldn’t make the con, given it was only a 6 hr drive for me. This was the one weekend this month I could not get out of work.

    Oh well, see you at Dragoncon. Are you and Harlan doing Iron Artist again?

    David

  4. Why did I always think Gwen! was the oldest? Eh, well.

    Sounds like a fun weekend.

  5. How wonderful to see Jewel again. She was far and away the best of the cast members on “Space Cases”, and I’m glad others are noticing her talents now as well.

    As for “what kind of monster would space a teddy bear” — Lisa and I are in the process of indoctr … er … introducing some friends to B5, and they just watched “There All the Honor Lies” this past weekend. They were quite impressed on all counts. (When Londo told Vir all the strings he’d just pulled on Vir’s behalf, one friend said, “Y’know, he can do all these nice things sometimes, but I still have this urge to wring his neck.” As it should be.)

    In any event, I told them about the Space Cases followup, and they were most amused. You’re picking up some new fans, I think.

    TWL

  6. I guess whoever handled the Con didn’t do much Promotion, didn’t even hear about it here in Orlando. Kinda sucks, would’ve liked to meet some of those guys.

  8. Nivek, you ought to visit http://www.stupidscifi.com – Bubs and Hal, the two cute li’l blue aliens, have been talking about nothing BUT Dreamcon for the last few weeks!

    Incidentally, I wonder if Mr. David got interviewed by these two little extraterriestrial refugees. Or maybe Bubs and Hal were looking for Earth females to interview – they somehow have gained an appreciation for human anatomy…

  9. I enjoyed Dream Con. They were nice enough to give me table space. I was across the aisle and down a bit from Peter and Marv Wolfman. It was a fun show. I talked to some folks, signed a few things, did some sketches [odd that people were asking a writer for sketches, but…], sold some books, and just had a dandy good time.

    Friday was a little slow so I had a chance to mingle and talk with the guests, something I just don’t get much chance to do at Dragon Con [got my guest confirmation yesterday, BTW].

    I think attendance could have been up a little bit on the comic fan side if Dream Con and Heroes were not held the same weekend.

    Oh, and watching Bub and Hal do interviews with the guests was fun. Gary Graham’s interview was hilarious.

    Bobby

    Bobby Nash
    Writer @ Large

  10. Specialty drinks are now served in a purchasable carved wooden monkey head.

    Yeah! Monkey heads rule!

  11. I LOVED Space Cases and adored Jewel Staite as Catalina. I loved in her Firefly too. Wish I could have been there. I was always hoping that we’d at least get some Space Cases novels or something to finish up the storyline. 🙁 That’s ok, I still have my Space Cases t-shirt that I made a long time ago with my friend. 🙂

  12. Not familiar with the Orlando area to much, and unsure of what the “3 major parks” are. But I have bee to Universal Studios Orlando and want to ask if Mr. David has ever been there? They have one of the best rollercoasters I’ve ever been on… The Hulk! Curious to his impression of the whole thing.

    Domo

  13. I’ve been to Universal a few times, and although I’m not much for roller coasters (i.e., I don’t go on them) I think Universal is the home to the single best ride, not only in Orlando, but in the country. And that’s the Spider-Man ride. It absolutely rocks.

    PAD

  14. When PAD mentioned the “three major parks”, I assumed he was talking about three different parks at Disneyworld itself. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney/MGM, or Animal Kingdom (not including the water parks). But, in the Orlando area, there’s Disney, Universal and Sea World.

    I haven’t been to Orlando in years, but am itching to go back to Disney.

  15. Yes, I was referring to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney/MGM. Animal Kingdom is also a park, but it’s still fairly new and so I was making reference to the three most people are familiar with.

    PAD

  17. Specialty drinks are now served in a purchasable carved wooden monkey head.

    Enjoy them while you can. With Disney’s penchant for not wanting to ever offend any secular organized group, once PETA finds out about the monkey head cups the House of Mouse will fold like a house of cards.

  18. The Spider-Man ride is the single greatest ride ever. Though, the Back to the Future ride will always hold a special place in my heart.

  20. “(hey, if Mercedes McNab moved to Massachusetts and married Julie “Darla” Benz, she’d be Mercedes Benz), “

    I’m thinking Peter needs to start writing Buffy Books…

  21. I wonder if they sell the monkey head cups online? Anyone know?

    Dave
    (who’s gonna look right now…)
    {Hey Peter! When will you start a comment thread for CM 24? I have an urge to comment…}

  22. I’ll just jump on the Space Cases wagon of appreciation for a moment. 🙂 That was my introduction to PAD’s work, and I loved every minute of it (well, maybe not All You Can Eaty..;) – still bring out my old tapes every so often and shake my fist at the premature cancellation. Ohhh, I wrote so many passionate letters to Herb Scannell when I heard the news-first and only time I’ve ever been that motivated to get off my bum and try to save a show.

  23. I wish I had know you were in my backyard. I would have loved to have met you. I worked on the Star trek Novel Timeline and am an avid reader of your Trek works.

    Perhaps next time you are in Orlando you could let me know so I could meet you?

    Thanks.

    Ryan Cornelius

  24. You know what…? I cant wait to comment about CM 24. I just bought it and with a flip and a brief look at the pictures…I think I just ruined the ending, BUT…I think its a good one…so now I read…

    P.S. sorry can’t contain myself…

  25. I may have missed out on it, but was there a comic book released in conjunction with the Spider-Man ride? I know there was one for the Hulk coaster, and the comic kind of sucked. Didn’t expect much, but it just didn’t have anything memorable at all in it.

    I did like the Spider-Man ride, but I think of that as a semi-sorta-quasi-rollercoaster. And who did the art in front of the Hulk Coaster? If you’ve never been there, you can see it featured on the commercials on tv when the two guys are ripping off their shirts (actually a guy and a kid).

  26. Hurray for Space Cases!! I always felt that the backhanded treatment Nickelodeon gave that series was a tragedy in lost potential.Thankfully, I still have my tapes of every single episode, and being a daycare teacher with a classroom of bright eager students and the whole summer ahead of us, I assure you that it lives on in the hearts of a brand new generation.

    Much respect and admiration,
    Marie S.

  27. Well, I can think of no better thread on which to make my first post to this blog. I was diverted here yesterday from Eschaton (I think) to see the Bush-Batman pic (hilarious, BTW). My new desktop background.

    Hi Peter. I’ve missed ya. Looks like you’ve got a great thing going here.

  28. “I’m thinking Peter needs to start writing Buffy Books…”

    Forget that…

    I want to see him wite Dawn books.

  30. It’s hard to believe anyone could NOT pay attention to JS – she’s such a cutie. My Inner Pervert pushed my Inner Child out of the way and rewound her little humping-in-the-engine-room scene a few bazillion times.

    Okay, so not exactly, but the sentiment is there. Who says romance is dead?

  31. Dreamcon was definately fun for all, and they intend on doing another one next year. (I don’t know how, but they seem confident)If so, I hope to be back too, maybe we could actually get the trailer show on the schedule this time..:) (It did happen but last minute on sunday at the end of programming). Meeting Jewel and her husband was fun, we all hit it off right off the bat. Probably didn’t hurt that I’d done some of the preliminary set design for Space Cases courtesy of Peter and Bill. Got to see the Peter clan who I hadn’t seen for a couple of years, and got to see Marv (Wolfman) and Noel who I hadn’t seen for like 8-9 years. VIP room on saturday was lots o fun as we ended up staying up until the morning practically. Hadn’t done that in ages, and knowing I wasn’t driving until monday morn made it OK..:)

    My after the con constituted of driving across the country in a little over 2 1/2 days to satisfy theovers who had moved up the date on me, and then didn’t show up until I would have been there anyway, had I taken a little more leisurely time. Probably just as well, as my AC went out, and travelling the bulk of the desert at night was a good thing.

    Arne

  32. Meeting Jewel and her husband was fun

    Arne, I hope you realize that about half the people reading this particular blog entry just heaved deep, mournful sighs. 🙂

    TWL

  33. “Well, I can think of no better thread on which to make my first post to this blog. I was diverted here yesterday from Eschaton (I think) to see the Bush-Batman pic (hilarious, BTW). My new desktop background.

    “Hi Peter. I’ve missed ya. Looks like you’ve got a great thing going here.”

    Kristian! Outstanding. I should go and tell Jewel you’re here. Folks, you may remember Kristian as “Radu” from “Space Cases,” not to mention several appearances as a clue in the TV Guide Crossword puzzle. Plus Jewel tells me that you’re in “Elf?”

    PAD

  34. “It’s hard to believe anyone could NOT pay attention to JS – she’s such a cutie. My Inner Pervert pushed my Inner Child out of the way and rewound her little humping-in-the-engine-room scene a few bazillion times.”

    Aw, man, don’t even go there. To me, Jewel was still the thirteen year old from “Space Cases.” I saw that scene and I was totally creeped out. Ecch! Ecch! Jewel playing someone having sex on TV! Make it stop!

    PAD

  35. Arne, I hope you realize that about half the people reading this particular blog entry just heaved deep, mournful sighs. 🙂

    *chuckle* Tim, you’re something else.

    Not that you’re wrong, of course…

    (Meanwhile, Kristian arrives to suitable greetings.)

    Hi Kristian. Hope you like it here.

    Incidentally, you may be able to satisfy some curiousity…As bosses go, how is PAD, and how’s Bill Mumy for that matter? I know it’s been a while, but hey–it was probably harder to herd a bunch of kids anyway.

    (Meanwhile-meanwhile [tm Sluggy, I think], PAD gets a rousing chorus of “Sunrise, Sunset” full in the face.)

    I heally hate to burst your bubble, PAD, but…some distant day, it’s going to be your kids you’re worrying about…Though that won’t be on TV. Hm…is that a step up or a step down?

  36. Arne, I hope you realize that about half the people reading this particular blog entry just heaved deep, mournful sighs. 🙂

    *chuckle* Tim, you’re something else.

    Not that you’re wrong, of course…

    (Meanwhile, Kristian arrives to suitable greetings.)

    Hi Kristian. Hope you like it here.

    Incidentally, you may be able to satisfy some curiousity…As bosses go, how is PAD, and how’s Bill Mumy for that matter? I know it’s been a while, but hey–it was probably harder to herd a bunch of kids anyway.

    (Meanwhile-meanwhile [tm Sluggy, I think], PAD gets a rousing chorus of “Sunrise, Sunset” full in the face.)

    I heally hate to burst your bubble, PAD, but…some distant day, it’s going to be your kids you’re worrying about…Though that won’t be on TV. Hm…is that a step up or a step down?

  37. Given all the other series getting the DVD treatment, any chance of Space Cases being released? I’d buy it.

    So, Kristian, what are you up to? [A local radio show just played “Telephone Hour” from the 1990s Bye Bye Birdie, and the chain of memories springing from that led me to ask the above question. Too cool that you’ve just delurked around the same time.]

  39. Space Cases was how I found my way here. Like others, it was my intro to Peter’s body of works… Fantastic. I still love that show, and I am constantly keeping an eye out for (a) a complete set of the show for sale, as my tapes are old, and incomplete *siiiigh*; and (b) sightings of those who played the main characters of Space Cases. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy-happy when I hear they’re doing well. ^-^

    I stoped watching Nickelodeon after my letters went unheaded and the show got cancled. I started watching again when they started Invader Zim. I stoped watching less than six months later when they cancled that show, too. *grrrrr*

    The Earth Bear line was from the eppy where Radu went out and got a teddy-bear for Rosie out of the vacume of space, and became a walking snow blizard. Mwua ha. One of my favourate eppisodes…

  40. Mr. David, I wish to know if you and Bill Mumy would be willing to authorize other writers with the rights to create stories based on the “Space Cases” characters. I was thirteen when the show first made it’s debut, and though it’s been years since I’ve watched it, I’ve never forgotten it, and remember the episodes verbatim. I was a devoted fan, and feel that it was terrible that the saga was left so incomplete. I hope to hear from you soon, thank you for your time. -Madeleine

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