Back again, back again

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Back from United Fan Con up in Springfield, MA. Overall a perfectly nicely run Trek Con. The one problem was that, while the dealers were in the large dealers room and the guests were all signing in the main foyer, I was set up at a table in a small “comic book” room off to the side. But many Trek fans don’t read my comics, or even know I write comics; they just read my Trek fiction. So they’d be wandering around with their copies of “Imazadi,” give a perfunctory glance at the comics room, and keep going. I raised a mild fuss and by Sunday had been moved out into the main foyer, where fans kept coming up to me and saying, “Where have YOU been all weekend?”

At the Friday meet-and-greet, actor Matthew (Neville Longbottom) Lewis spend a splendid amount of time talking with Ariel, who had come to the convention with the specific hope of meeting him. He couldn’t have been nicer to her, so if anyone is looking to invite him to a convention, do so by all means. Then invite me. And Ariel.

Saturday night was the banquet and the cabaret, in which all guests were required to participate. Richard Hatch didn’t know that, and had nothing prepared. So he joined me in a dual reading of my parody Doctor Seuss poem, “Green Eggs and Crack.” The audience loved him. Mira Furlan, also of a poetic bent, did some lovely readings of poems by Shel Silverstein. The most entertaining, however, to my mind, was Sylvester McCoy. He marched up with a full sized guitar case, opened it and produced a tiny violin case no more than a foot long…opened THAT and withdrew a pair of spoons. He then, with musical accompaniment, proceeded to play the spoons with dazzling skill, bouncing them not only off his own leg, but tables, chairs, people’s heads and–most memorably–Mira Furlan’s posterior when Mira leaned forward and half rose from her chair to whisper something to me.

So next weekend we actually have a breather, and then after that, it’s off to mid-Ohiocon. Our house sitter is getting a workout this month.

PAD

17 comments on “Back again, back again”

  1. I love Sylvester McCoy; hands down, my favorite Doctor.

    Tomorrow I’ll watch “Survival” and then move on to some of the Big Finish audios he’s done, reprising his role as the Doctor.

    Hopefully I’ll get to meet him some day. 🙂

  2. I’m struggling to picture someone playing the spoons on Mira Furlan’s bottom…somehow the mental image doesn’t quite seem RIGHT.

  3. Matthew Lewis sounds like a “top bloke” as they say across the pond. McCoy sounds like he was a lot of fun too. Ðámņ, I should have gone after all…

    Hey, how long until someone on the Comicon boards posts a thread entitled “Peter David Chooses Snooty Hollywood Crowd Over His Loyal Comic Fans”? 😉

  5. Springfiled Marriot Hostel room Cost (Thursday-Monday): $620
    Total Cost of Attending UFC 15 (and working it): $340
    Watching PAD get all excited about telling Carol Cleveland about his Tim the Enchanterer costume and the Lord Sauron DVD: Priceless.

    I’m glad you and your family had a good time at the show. Despite the two cardboard standees and the mention on the schedule where the comic vendors were located at the show (including the location map on the program’s back), I was disappointed that not many folks were heading over that way to check it out. I was one of the staffers that you talked to about the room, so i’m glad my words (and others) helped get you moved.

    My friend was the escort for Sylv and we got to hang out with him for quite a bit at the show. Besides the stories he told at his talks, he told us a few about encounters with fandom that contains words you can’t say around children.

    Did you get to see Rachel Luttrell there on Sunday? Oh my God, the tv does not do her justice. Much, much, much more fit and good-looking in real life.

    And of course, Leonard Nimoy was great too. It was interesting to learn how the Vulcan hand gesture has ties to Jewish mysticism, his childhood, his book Shekhina, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

    Cabaret was great, everyone at my table loved your Green Eyes and Crack. On;y thing that ticked some of us off (not sure if anyone at your table mentioned it or had the trouble) was when dessert was brought out. People SWARMED to the tables, piling up their plates with what was offered, leaving others with nearly nothing to get for themselves. I was able to liberate a mere cream puff to give to a friend while another gave me the back crust to his pumpkin pie so I’d have something to munch on.

    All in all, the con was deemed a success by Paul and Deb and I’m glad once more that despite a few kinks that you and your family had a good time there as well.

  6. Awww, Petey getting all fussy. Why do I have an image of Peter as FAMILY GUY’s “Stewie Griffin” articulately arguing the folly of placing him in a comic book section of a multi-medium convention and convention host, like “Lois Griffin”, blithely ignoring lil Petie’s articulate complaints until finally stumbling upon the solution?

    Posted by Jeff Lawson at November 15, 2005 12:16 AM
    I’m struggling to picture someone playing the spoons on Mira Furlan’s bottom…somehow the mental image doesn’t quite seem RIGHT.

    It’s wrong in all the right ways.

    — Ken from Chicago

    P.S. So are Sly and Mir going on tour? >=^>

  7. I’ve taken crap for it from other fans, but McCoy has always been one of my favorite Doctors. Wish I had remebered he was in Mass. this weekend. Having just broken up wuth the g/f, I pretty much sat around the apartment watching my favorite breakup movie- Bogart in IN A LONELY PLACE. I could have used the six hour drive to clear my head and finally get to meet McCoy. Not surprised he was great at the cabaret, he was a stage performer from way back.

  12. My two favorite Sylvester McCoy stories both involve plays, strangely enough. The first was taking Sylvester, his wife Agnes and Sophie Aldred to an off-Broadway show called Oil City Symphony back in the late eighties. I’ll never forget the look on his face when the entire audience was asked to stand up and dance the Hokey Pokey.

    And my other favorite memory was going to see farce about a group of men at a vasectomy clinic-I think the title was Having a Ball if I remember correctly. Anyway, the high point was a scene of Sylvester McCoy on stage in his birthday suit doing prop comedy with only the gifts God gave him. I couldn’t even begin to do it justice, nor do I think I should; suffice to say, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.

    I’m glad to see Sylvester is bringing the house down at conventions. I remember driving up to Scranton of all places to do the first American interview with him just after he signed on for Doctor Who. He’s always been a class act, who hasn’t always been given the credit he deserves.

    Oh, and if you think those McCoy stories are semi-memorable, my wife has me beat hands-down; She was the makeup artist on set when Sylvester attempted to set a world’s record for stuffing the greatest number of live ferrets down his trousers!

  13. 1
    Neville will be at the Big Apple Comic Con this weekend. Along with Carrie Fisher minus the slave outfit and Peter Tork from the Monkees. I think Crabbes and the Irish kid from Harry Potter will be there also! It’s at the Penn Hotel on 7th and 33rd in Midtown.

  14. “Dammit, Jim, I’m a Time Lord, not an X-Man!”

    Wow, that’s the most complex nerd joke I’ve ever seen. Bravo!

    “Green Eggs and Crack” was the name of Too Much Joy’s first album (followed by the aptly named “Son of Sam I Am”, a title that fills me with inexplicable joy). Is that where you got the idea of the poem from, Peter, or is it just a meaningless coincidence?

    Who’s Mira Furlan?

  15. Who’s Mira Furlan?

    Delenn on Babylon 5.

    She’s also made a few appearances in the first season of Lost.

  16. “Green Eggs and Crack” was the name of Too Much Joy’s first album (followed by the aptly named “Son of Sam I Am”, a title that fills me with inexplicable joy). Is that where you got the idea of the poem from, Peter, or is it just a meaningless coincidence?”

    Meaningless coincidence. Never heard of Too Much Joy.

    PAD

  17. Sylvester playing the spoons on Mira’s posterior was indeed a classic moment and will not be soon forgotten by those of us who were there.

    I have to say that both “The Cad in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Crack” were huge amounts of fun and beautifully delivered by you. Mira was right when she said that you could be an actor tomorrow.

    Thanks so much for your contribution to what was a really fun con.

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