Just returned from “Shore Leave,” a fan-run Trek convention in Maryland at which I’m pretty much a regular.
Now Shore Leave has had any number of big name stars in attendance over the years, but I have *never* seen anything as what I experienced with the advent of James Marsters, “Spike” on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” It was the equivalent of a rock star having arrived. Hundreds of fans who had never set foot at a convention turned up carrying with them an aura of pure teenybopperism. They just wanted to touch him, or were barely able to get a word out upon coming face to face with him, or reduced to inarticulate sobbing. It was astounding to watch.
On the other hand, they all seemed ready, willing and able to learn about other facets of fandom. Many of them arrived in the main speaker’s room first thing in the morning so as to have seats for Marster’s talk at 3 PM. But it wasn’t as if they spent five hours pounding the floor shouting, “Bring On Spike!” Instead they listened to all the speakers and were eager and willing participants in just about everything. And fandom is desperately in need of (no pun intended) new blood. Yes, the crowds were tough to bear at times, but if thirty, forty percent of the people who came this year show up next year, that’s all to the good and worth a bit of inconvenience for a year.
As for Marsters himself, the fans found him everything they could have hoped for. Patient, attentive, signing for HOURS at a time, and really obviously enjoying interacting with the fans. My understanding is that Whedon has been mounting a major Emmy push for Marsters. Considering the abysmal track record and inattention historically accorded any fantasy/horror or SF series (how the HÊLL could Andreas Katsulas never have been nominated for G’Kar?) I’m not holding out much hope, but it’d be nice to be surprised.
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