My Big Damn Convention Blog

Monday, May 2, 2005 5:30 PM

I thought I'd share my delight at being at the first Firefly convention and indeed my first convention too.

From the moment I arrived, everyone was enthused, friendly and fun, it seemed comfortable to talk to anyone there, even if it was just to admire their costumes or ask how far they'd come (and some came from really far away). A big hi to everyone I met, however briefly. A huge apology to everyone whose name I didn't catch or obliterated with one of those oh so many bottles of Stella, but I was glad I got to speak to a fair few of those on this very board, especially Darin (whose costume is even better in the flesh/cloth), Jamie (who I hope arrived safely back yesterday), "Cap'n" Eric (good luck with your powers of persuasion so you can make it to the next one), Izzy and Louisa (remember, you are never allowed to tell anyone that I was being beaten by a girl), Mike (I'll see you next on Living TV I guess!), Flo (her posters came out wonderfully, I have a lot of everybody's signatures on my wall now), Ruthie (whose expression when a Ruthie Fan badge was pulled out on her was priceless), Brian (I owe you a beer, come to the next convention), Matt/PsychicRiver (I definitely owe you a pint, I think we must have kept missing each other by moments, really disappointed that I didn't catch up with you), Kirsty/DoubleShiny (who did so well with her questions to the BDHs, much much better than me), really just a big thank you to everyone I met, there was not one unfriendly person there.

Next time I will be all prepared with name badges and organise my time better to do more things around the photo sessions and autograph collecting (although I had great fun in the queue for those too). I'm also looking to add a few more Wonderfalls fans, have to set aside a 45 minute slot or two next time for it.

The fans present would have made it a really great weekend but we also had 8 fabulous guests too. Sean Harry made a speech at the end about how great the guests had been behind the scenes which was wonderful because they'd been fantastic in front of them.

Sadly Adam Baldwin had to cancel but a) we had been prepared for it and b) he also sent a video message over, with his own twisting of The Man They Call Jayne, complete with nifty hat.

Chris Buchanan, the executive producer of the movie was probably the biggest surprise for me. Funny, smart, in perfect key with the fans, charming and diplomatic, particularly when the 'F' word was mentioned (that's "Fox", obviously). The sort of guy who might end up giving Hollywood producers a good name.

Mark Sheppard felt like one of us, as comfy talking to the fans as he was with his co-stars. I heard several tales about his wicked sense of humour too. I now seriously regret not getting him to sign a photo. Like his character, he's no bad guy and deserves to return at the next available big screen outing.

Jewel was adorable, funny, as happy talking about the demands of playing an alcoholic as her shoes and Maui. She was so obviously pleased to be reunited with the rest of the cast plus she got to give Nathan the finger (we should have shown them how we do things here in England - two fingers is traditional).

Morena is so stunning in person that it's almost a pity because every time she talked about possible roles for her, acting heroes, the 'process', characters, reading Shakespeare, her eyes just lit up and she was so enthused. It was impossible not to see how much she loves acting and how that is what's important to her, not the way she looks.

Summer was so sweet, talking about how she came into dancing and acting, her childhood and her influences (Dirty Dancing! 1 and 2!). She was so open to the audience that it was almost unnerving, particularly when this time next year, she'll have a few million more fans. I also should mention that it is unfair that these three ladies can party to the early hours and still turn up to a 9 o'clock photo shoot, looking as though they had been carefully prepared for it by sleeping for the previous week.

Ron Glass gave every q

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