Hi all,

Well, the convention is over and here are a few tidbits. Saturday was busy with panels that I didn't a chance to get to because it was at the same time Jimmy Doohan was signing and he was signing at only specific times. I was stunned at his condition. More on that later. Richard Herd was first to speak and he upset people because he cut into fifteen minute of Mira's time. Mira was asked about the famous pose with everyone giving the bird. The audience busted up with that one. She said they were bored when that picture was taken. Mira was before Jimmy and they kept a tight speaking schedule. Jimmy came on and I was stunned at his condition. He doesn't remember any of his time on Star Trek. None of the Trek movies, none of his time in Hollywood. He would drift off and start rambling. It pained the audience to see him like that. I was in tears. It was just horrible. That's why it took so long in the autograph line. Jimmy has great difficulty signing. Richard Herd did talk about how he got into science fiction and that it was a good career for him. Mira talked about her life before B5 but since her talk was cut short no one had a chance to ask any questions. Jimmy came on next and his talk was mercifully cut short. Michael Dorn was next and boy was he funny. He didn't take pictures with anyone and he didn't attend the dinner but what a difference between him and Avery. Michael talked about working on NG and what a good time they had on the set. Patrick Stewart was the prankster on the set according to Michael. Michael said when he joined DS9, the set was very serious and not a fun group in the beginning. However Michael said that changed by the end of the series. Michael said at first he refused the DS9 part but the money was good. This dovetails with what Avery said last year at the Orlando Vulkon that Michael was brought on to save the show. Michael didn't say that but the fact that the producers offered him a good bit of money to reprise the role of Worf on DS9 does tell me the DS9 was in trouble. Michael also talked about how close he is with members of both casts but he's closer to the NG cast. He said that Marina and he had dinner a few weeks ago and he also had dinner with Brent. Michael was asked about another ST movie and he was not optimistic about one. Nemesis really tanked at the box office in Paramount's eyes. He also talked about his diminished role in the movie and he was not happy. So time will tell if there will be a new movie. Michael also said if Enterprise was canceled, Paramount might consider mothballing the franchise for a while. Michael also said he enjoyed working with Marina, Terry and Nicole. I enjoyed Michael. He did shed some light on the movie and what might happen in the future. A lot is riding on Enterprise, literately and figuratively. I was standing in line waiting for Michael's autograph when a woman asked if I was in Orlando. I said yes. She told me email her because she has pictures of me with Bruce at the bar. Wild:)

That night was the dinner. I sat at Mira's table. She is so different with a small group of people. Again it was a very pleasant dinner. We talked about her homeland, B5, JMS and just things in general. We were talking about her homeland when I mentioned the episode in the fourth season called Illusion of Truth. She said it was very descriptive of her homeland and what was going on over there. She said JMS was very gifted but he was always fighting his demons. I told Mira I saw Bruce last year and she asked how he was and I said fine and that he would be in Cleveland next year. I did ask Joe about DragonCon and was worried if Bruce would cancel Cleveland and Joe said no, that he is very good friends with both Bruce and Jerry and they will be in Cleveland as a favor to Joe because Joe helped to raise quite a bit of cash for the Motion Picture home. It was Mira's birthday the next day so we went out and got her a bottle of red wine. Of course people were lining up for pictures. I wish I could have talked with her a little more about B5. I wanted her to know how much the series meant to all of us and she knew. She was also pleased that the DVD sales were going so well. Sunday I had my picture taken with her. It was great.

On Sunday Bobby Clark spoke about his character of the Gorn. He was surprised at the staying power of the character. He was on four TOS episodes and did many of the sixties westerns. He is really a cowboy and stunt man. He said that he got the work on TOS because one of the directors worked with him in a western and asked him if he wanted to work on TOS. Of course the rest is history. Bobby was surprised at the interest in him and his career. Fans stopped by his table to talk with him. I did get my picture taken with him. I also got a picture with Richard Herd.

Next on the program was Jonathan Hardy, the voice of Rygel. Right off the bat, Jonathan said no one foresaw what happened to Farscape. And with Universal selling Sci Fi to NBC nothing is happening. Fans asked out bringing back the series but Jonathan doesn't think that will happen. Jonathan is a very talented man. I didn't know that he wrote the story Breaker Morant. He's been in various plays in both London and Sydney. He goes between New Zealand and Australia. He also said that he wouldn't be in the States for quite a while after this tour. Jonathan said that playing the voice of Rygel was an experience and he got the role through connections in the theater. I have a picture with him also. He spoke of doing theater and never really did TV. He also was surprised at how popular Farscape is. That's why he jumped on Farscape immediately as if to head off the Farscape questions. Most of the questions from the audience were geared toward Farscape. However no questions were asked about the rest of the cast. I think Jonathan was apart from them because he was the voice of Rygel.

Next up was Julie Caitlin Brown. She talked about her roles on NG & DS9. She told us the Aerosmith story. I can just see Steven Tyler saying beam me up Scotty. She said Aerosmith had a tour of the NG set and Tyler and Joe Perry were standing on a platform and saying beam me up Scotty. Patrick Stewart didn't know who Aerosmith was but he sure found out. Steven Tyler is a great fan of ST as is the whole band and so they were like kids in a candy store being able to visit the set. Julie told the story of how she got the part of Na'Toth and why she left the series. She was developing a reaction to the makeup. Michael Dorn also said he was also ready to quit DS9 because of the makeup problem. He said that problem was resolved so he stayed on. However in Julie's case they wouldn't work with her so she left. But she did come back for another episode. She said JMS told her that if she had stayed she would have been the ambassador. This is the first I have heard that one.

Next was Dominic Keating. The first thing he said when took the stage was the Enterprise is in trouble and close to being pulled. He kept telling people to watch on Wednesdays as Sundays didn't cut it. He was asked some pointed questions. The continuity problem was addressed. Someone made the suggestion of firing Berman and getting new writers. Dominic said that wouldn't be a good idea as Berman signs his paycheck. He said that the cast is tight and he looks to Scott Bakula as an older brother. Another fan said that both Scott and Jolene should make appearances at the conventions to show support for the show. Many of the questions were about the change in direction of the show and the writing. Dominic was really trying not to get agitated with the audience but one fan was starting to push his buttons. She was the one talking about Trek continuity. Another question asked was what would happen to the franchise if Enterprise failed and Dominic also echoed what Michael stated that the franchise could be mothballed for a time to see what Paramount wanted to do with it. The fans were upset and that was evident. Also at dinner, fans were standing in line for pictures with him but he only allowed a few as he was tired and a little drunk so if you weren't one of the lucky ones then you missed out. My feelings on that is, here he is asking for help but not willing to go the extra mile for pictures. I keep thinking of Bruce in Orlando not turning away anyone who wanted a picture. To me it was very different. I realize Dominic worked until late Friday night, flew in on Saturday for the dinner and left Sunday and maybe I shouldn’t be hard on him but people really wanted a picture. I guess I have to consider everything. Michael signed and then left. Dominic did say that when he got back to the studio he would mention to both Rick Berman and Scott what he learned from the crowd at Vulkon. Dominic is quite concerned about the fate of Enterprise. I also think with Enterprise up against Smallville that could also cause a problem. Dominic also brought up Nemesis and the problem that created. Michael didn't have a problem with Jonathan Frakes directing. In fact Michael thinks Jon is very talented but a good director needs a good script. Hint Hint. I think Dominic was surprised at fan reaction to Enterprise and I hope Dominic does go back and relay the information he received in Cleveland to TPTB.

Well, that’s about all I can remember right now. If I remember any more I'll add a post script. Hope you enjoy the report.

Marie-from Cleveland.

PS - Well, I knew I would forget something.

Mira was ill when she arrived in Cleveland. She almost didn't come but she did for her fans. She signed on Saturday, had a wonderful dinner with us Saturday night and then signed and took pictures with us on Sunday. That's the difference. I for one am so glad she came. I don't know whether Dominic felt happy to be in Cleveland or whether he was pushing for support but Mira, Julie, Richard and Glenn Shaddix talked to us, took pictures and just had a good time.

I also forgot to add that I was at Glenn's panel and he talked about his part in the HBO series Carnivale. I wished I got HBO to see this. He also talked about the DVDs and how they are geared towards the 18-49 age group. He also said DVDs are changing how movies and TV series are distributed. I brought up that many of us buy the boxed DVD sets, which are not cheap. Glenn said studios tend to make action movies for that particular age group and then release it on DVD sometime after because of the buying power of this group. So most parts are geared toward the action actor and many other actors are left in the dust. I personally would love to see the overall sales of DVD boxed sets of TV series. I can see studios going into their vaults and dusting off old TV series and marketing them to the baby boomers. Just think -- forty years of TV that can be DVD'd just for us baby boomers. There's gold in them there hills.

Well, signing off again.

Marie