T-minus 2 hours - ZimQ'Tar

And I'll be in the air on to Aggy. Thanks CT. (no scanner so maybe I'll have the negs. transferred to a CD-Rom?) I will be meeting up with 40+ *com-linkers* from TheStation.com, the official Babylon-5 fan club. Could not rent a lap-top as there was a screw up when my credit card co. changed, old card no longer works, no new card yet, bogus. More later from Burbank as the Hilton has Internet access available.

Until then.

WooHoo - ZimQ'Tar

Here......plane didn't crash. This hotel is a mirror image of the Sheridan in Pamona for VORcon. No GD shuttle service to get booze etc. Bogus. Had to hire a taxi to go get some Stoli.

Lot's of *com-linkers* here already, we worked to help set up the A/V stuff before the con. starts tomorrow, speakers, vid-screens etc. in the various rooms (sorry for the spelling, I'm in my cups and the access costs $20 clams an hour, buy the stock!!!) There's talk that Jeff Conaway (Zack Allen) will be here tomorrow and that Pat Tallman (Lyta Alexander) may be here with Jeffery (Kosh). Hoping beyond hope is myself as I type this.

Well off to the bar to see just who's hanging out, damn outta vodka, back to the room, then back to the bar, in that order.

Where To Start - ZimQ'Tar

Home.

ISN reporter Cynthia Torqueman from the Aggy.

"So Zim, weren't you going to file live reports from AgamemCon III?"

Thank you Cynthia. Why yes that was the original planalthough as these con. things often go those plans changed in a hurry because:

1. Only an idiot would pay $20 hour to post on internet.
   
2. I met a really fine gal who would not let me out of bed except to go do the con. or eat.
   
3. I was drunk most of the time and could not type.
   
4. There was so much to do between the Actor, Director, Writer, Make Up, Stunt, Effects and Science panels, Vid-room, the Con. suite, Party's, and working security, I had no time to post any reports."

As you can see, there was a huge bunch of stuff going on. More later on the *surprise guest* at the Bill Mumy concert, surprise guests who did come or not make it. Backstage stuff and a lot more.

Report 1 - ZimQ'Tar

A couple of things to start.

You will meet a lot of really cool people at these cons. People who can play *Trivia* from their memory, like, "what actor played C. Torqueman from ANFaW?", they reply, "Kim Zimmer" just like that. Ah, excuse me, I see an old friend over there. And a few very weird people as well. Like one fellow who claimed to have seen the B-5 actors being picked up by the OSW's movie cast. Like, "I just saw Mark Hammel pick up Bill Mumy as he was leaving", ah, OK. Zim looks for the bar, LOL.

BTW, the correct answers are A&D, plus a wee bit(?!?) of C, B did not work out :-(.

After helping move A/V equipment into the con. site Thurs. afternoon, we took a break at around 18:00 as the hotel staff moved in all the tables, chairs, stages, plants, ect. to the 3 main con. rooms (panel rooms A, B and the A/V room. So off to the hotel lobby to see who's hanging out........nobody? At VORcon on Thurs. there were more than 30 people hanging out to chat, where are you from?, fav. ep.?, and the like. Hummmm, over to *guest services* with, "I need a driver to make a booze run", "Sorry sir, I'll call you a cab",????????? [O]K, after some Stoli and I was *toasty*, back to the lobby to party with some B-5 con. fans........nobody.

Oh, well.....time to get some grub, off to the Hilton restaurant the *Daily Grill*......burger w/cheese $8.95 (hey, comes with frys, why are you laughing?), meatloaf diner, $13.95 etc. The meatloaf was vary good, but with a drink and tip+tax, it was 21+ clams. Zim makes a mental note.....the taxi booze run was $7.00 return+tip. Gotta find some grub within *taxi distance* and share with friends.

Sure these are little things, but over the course of a 3 day con. the money adds up fast. $79.00 @ VORcon vs. $137.00 at Aggy for food and bar tabs added to the bill. That's $58.00 less for autographs, T-shirts etc. Then there is the *time factor*. Mira over @ 16:00, signs 'till 17:30 or 18:00, 2 hours 'till the Bill Mumy concert, plus time talking to friends, dealers room and all of a sudden there's only 45 min.'s to eat and man you gotta eat something and fast. Hotel restaurant is the last best hope for some grub......plus Bill will probably start at least 30 mins. late, just enough time to eat, hit your room to change, have a drink and get ready to rock. So you're out 21 clams for dinner but you arrive on time for the Bill Mumy concert, money well spent. It's a con. thing, bitch until you make the main event on time, then shut up and just *do it*. After all, money is only paper with numbers on it, we came here to live life with our friends from The Station, the Guests, Production Crew, Writers, Directors et al.

Well off to bed......but not before closing the bar with J. Gregory Keyes, the writer *Guest of Honor* of the *Psi-Corps trilogy* B-5 Book series covering the rise of Bester. Not a bad start.

Minuses Hotel food prices, lack of early fan parties, no hot-tub, shuttle service.
Pluses Big rooms, allowing Gregory and I to be so loud in the bar (mind you he was wearing his *guest* badge. The hotel staff were no doubt aware that Aggy was on and just *who was who* by the color of their badge), and I tried to look *serious*, like a body guard or some such, but in my blue *lily pattern* Hawaiian shirt I no doubt looked like just another drunk to them as the night grew old. We had fun though, more on that later, in the *room parties* during the con. Sorry that this may seem *dry* at first, but that is how these things start

Tomorrow: Day One, Friday.

AgamemCon - Day 1 - Sojourner Mars

I love Agamemcon because the pace is so relaxed that you can talk to the actors a little in the autograph lines and with the other fans and enjoy yourself. This is in contrast to the Creation Cons I have been to, which are crowded and noisy.

So Day 1 dawned in a relaxing way. The panels that I went to were Steven Furst (a director's panel), Mira Furlan & Tim Choate, and Wayne Alexander. Steven Furst was very funny and informal. He said, "Call me Steve, Mr. Furst is my Dad." When someone asked him if he took formal directing classes, he said that he had and the tux killed him. He hated wearing black all day! As a director, he said that he goes to the set and does all the roles to block out the camera angles. He would like to direct a romantic comedy. While doing Babylon 5 he went to school and got a degree in Psychology. So he is a busy man!

The Mira Furlan and Tim Choate panel was fascinating. Tim Choate (pronounced Chote) does not sound like Zathras and of course he does not look like Zathras. But then he described how he came up with the voice at the audition. He didn't understand the lines about "not the One" but he felt that the lines made even less sense if spoken by a regular looking human with a regular voice. So he came up with a modified Pakistani accent and said the words in the back of his throat, as if the language was hard for him. And suddenly, there was Zathras! Tim Choate was grateful to the fans for being so interested in him and for Mira Furlan and the caste of Babylon 5 for being so supportive of him. Mira Furlan was very nice and kept saying how bold Tim Choate's acting choices were and how great his Zathras was. You could see that she was a very nice person.

Wayne Alexander was wonderful as always. He showed a home movie he made at the age of 15. One of the highlights of the day was getting his autograph because he knew he had seen me at VorCon or the previous AgamemCon (it was the previous AgamemCon). I was really surprised that he remembered me because I am just one fan amongst millions!

The last event of the day was the Bill Mumy concert. I don't want to ruin the surprise of the mystery guest, so I will just say that the concert was very loud and very interesting. Bill Mumy said that he tends to write dark songs, and they did seem to be dark. One song was about how Babylon 5 was just a TV show. It reminded me of William Shatner. I liked the song about his Lost in Space/Babylon 5 dream and a song about love.

So ended a wonderful day at AgamemCon.

Web Sites For Actors at AgamemCon - Day 1 - Sojourner Mars

I learned two new web sites at AgamemCon. Maggie Egan, the gracious and talented actress who plays an ISN anchor, has a site at:
http://www.isnanchor.com

She was very thankful for all the support the fans have given her. She was one of the opening acts at the concert and is very talented.

Bill Mumy also has a web site at:
http://www.billmumy.com Check it out!

Report 2 - ZimQ'Tar

Sorry, servers etc. Thanks to Sojourner Mars for keeping the secret. SM was right, this is a con. of the *people*.

We attend the Tim, Mira panel (on Friday) and Tim states one thing that will remain with me forever, he says: "These cons. help me *keep the faith*. As actors, we get rejected for parts and suffer long times of unemployment, here at these cons., what with the *Fan-dom* and all, we remember that our work means something to someone, you people". I smile, Zathras we love you.

Tim and I exchanged E-mail last Dec. when I saw that he would attend Aggy. He sent me mail saying to ask him at aggy: "You were born at the *Chester clinic*, right? (private mail)" When I asked this question at the panel, he was *freaked*......"How did you know that?"

"Working with Mr. Bester." I replied.

Then I pulled out the copy of the E-mail (printed) and we all had a big laugh, then, just then, Tim remembered the mail, everyone laughed, these cons. are so much fun, the interactive experience.

Flash Forward

Bill Mumy's concert was a blast. There was a *mystery Guest* at Bill's concert, Claudia Christian - Woo Hoo. She comes out and does 3 songs with Bill's band, two rockin' blues numbers, then leaving with singing: *It's just a TV show* (we all join in the chorus from his CD with the *Generator's* (see link in SM's post, below for the CD.)

More later, gotta sleep.

Report 3 - ZimQ'Tar

After the Bill Mumy concert I pulled the late 22:00-02:00 security shift in the main convention hall lobby and the A/V, gaming rooms which were to go late, everything else was shut down for the night. Pretty boring until a couple from Thousand Palms, CA. come up to me as I was having a smoke outside and ask, "You have a tape of *War Zone* with you, yes?" (I had told a couple of com-linkers that I had brought the tape with me just in case anyone had missed it Wed. night or was from overseas) "Why, yes I do, I reply. Do you have access to a VCR?" "We'll find one".

I went to fetch the tape. When I returned they had cut a deal with the people in the A/V room to show it once the film they were showing was over. (they were showing an all night HK Kung-Fu movie marathon). So 30 min. later about 20 or so folks are ready to watch *War Zone*. Now I had seen it Wed. night but what with getting ready to leave for the con. I did not really pay attention.

This time was a blast. They had the VCR jacked into a projector onto a 6'X5' screen with a stereo pro speaker system pushing 100 watts. We turned it up way loud as we were at the far end of the building away from the hotel part of the complex. The space battle between the Excalibur and the Drakh was really fun to watch as the room rocked with each explosion, Woo Hoo. I had made some new friends that night.

Day Two

I start off after brekie working to cover for JoanDarc at the door to the dealers room as she wants to do the *Babylon Memories* panel with Maggie Egan, Jeffery Willerth, Jason Carter, Tim Choate, John Vickery and Bill Blair. I'd already met most of them at VORcon so I don't mind missing them this time and JoanDarc has come all the way from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Bill Blair has a cool web-site @ AlienActor, check it out.

While working the door I run across Leslie Hoffman and we talk for around 10 min. about her stunt work on B-5 and STV where she doubles for Torres(sp) character. She tells me that the hardest part of doing the stunts for Torres is that she has to fight like a man as the character is half Klingon and "fights like a man" unlike Janeway or 7of 9. That's one cool thing about AgamemCon, there are a lot of people here who work behind the camera or are not well known for their work because they work in make-up or as stunt doubles. Fun to get to talk to them about their views on doing television from a different POV than the main actors.

More later with Mira, Wayne, Tim, and Kim Holly, plus David J. Eagle and Goran Gajic.

The Babylon 5 Memories Panel - Sojourner Mars

The first panel of Day 2, Babylon 5 Memories, was one of the highlights of the whole weekend for me. I am sorry that Zim missed it, although it was very nice of him to let someone else have the chance to see it. It starred John Vickery (Neroon, Mr. Welles), Jeffrey Willerth (Kosh), Jason Carter (Marcus), Maggie Egan (ISN anchor), Bill Blair (who does lots of aliens), Robin Atkin-Downes (Byron), and Tim Choate (Zathras). It was a crack-up! It began with numerous jokes about Jason Carter having cut off his beard and it continued from there. A member of the audience said, "You're all dead!" Jason Carter protested that he wasn't dead, he was in deep freeze. Then Maggie Egan said that she wasn't dead either, whereupon the ever gallant Jeffrey Willerth said, "That's ok, I died twice (to make up for you)." John Vickery, for whom this was his first convention, looked a little stunned. He had the cutest smile on his face when, after someone congratulated him for his powerful acting in Moments of Transistion, he had to ask which one that was (the one where Neroon dies)! John Vickery got a lot of questions. I think he was popular with the audience. He looked like, well, like Mr. Welles! He will reprise Mr.Welles on one of the Crusade episodes. He also made an interesting comment about aliens on U.S. TV tending to have English accents. Tim Choate said he didn't have an English accent but that, like many of the actors in England, he had a lot of theater experience and he tended to play broad, theatrical characters.

Robin Atkin-Downes was very funny. He said he knew what the question was in the back row before anyone raised their hand (i.e. telepathically). He also did the "Kosh Dance". He stood up, was completely still for a few moments, and then broke into a laugh as he sat down and said, "That's it!" He also sang the "telepath song" for us in a Tiny Tim imitation (the song about coming together in a better place). He thought it was sappy.

This brings me to another reason why I loved this panel. The actors all obviously liked one another and got along well together. John Vickery, who was only on Babylon 5 once or twice a year, didn't know what Robin Atkin-Downes meant by the telepath song (neither did Jason Carter). Jeffrey Willerth leaned over to John Vickery periodically and I imagine he was filling John Vickery in on things. Maggie Egan came to the panel just after it had started. Tim Choate gave up his seat so that she would feel included. Before the panel started, all the actors were talking and hugging each other. Jason Carter talked with Tim Choate and Maggie Egan talked with Robin Atkin-Downes. Wayne Alexander came in briefly just to chat with everyone. He was gone before the panel started. I enjoyed seeing how warm everyone was with one another!

Report 3a - ZimQ'Tar

I had volunteered to work security as an *extra* and as such caught some weird shifts.......but alas, we must all do our part to make the con. *fly*.

I get a chance to catch the *Working in Make-Up* panel with Mira, Tim, Wayne and make-up artist Kim Ferry.

Mira says, answering a question, that the *bone crest with hair* took more time in the chair than the *original* Delenn to make up. Many around me share the thought " I'da thought the original was harder to do", that's showbiz folks.

Wayne tells a funny story: He felt left out because no one plays any jokes on him, like the rest of the cast do as they are standing around in full make-up, waiting for the *cast call* to the soundstage. Well, while playing *Lorien* he has to wear those gold contact lenses and wearing such can not read the *teleprompter*, so he works long and hard all night before the shoot, learning his 2 page part. 30 min. before his call an AD (assistant director) comes up and says "Joe re-wrote some stuff which you'll have to learn before we shoot" and hands him 4 pages of script. He freaks........there is no GD way I can learn this in only 30 min.!!! Worse than that, the *dialogue* sucks, totally out of character for *Lorien*. Wayne is pissed. Then many other cast members come out and say: "Got Ya", now he is a member of the family.

We all laugh. That was a highlight for me. The inter-play all the cast had while making Babylon-5, a looseness, they are all friends and it shows in the final product. Joe, Doug and John Copeland were it seems, easy to work for. Thus we fans get a great show, seeing how it came to be, cast wise, is for me a very special part of AgamemCon.

More later.

Day 2 - Part 1 - Sojourner Mars

After the Babylon 5 Memories panel, I went to the makeup panel with Tim Choate and Wayne Alexander, the directors' panel with David Eagle and Goran Gajic, the Andreas Katsulas/Mira Furlan panel, the Crusade panel, and the Mars Sample Return panel.

It was interesting to listen to Tim Choate and Wayne Alexander talk about the hardships of working in make-up. They couldn't work more than 3 consecutive days in a row or they would be in great pain. They said that Andreas Katsulas sometimes worked more than 3 days in a row. Wayne Alexander had a lot to do with Lorien's long fingers. He practiced moving his hands so that the finger extensions (which were hard), would look like they were moving and real. He also said that make-up is important to an actor and that a lot of ideas about how to play a character come from staring at the final make-up. Tim Choate agreed. He said that without the make-up, Zathras would look like a person biting into a lemon! But with the make-up, Tim Choate was free to be Zathras.

I was very glad to see the David Eagle/Goran Gajic (pronounced Ga'-yic?) [ED. note: It's Ga yich. Replay Grail and listen to Delenn pronounce "Aldous Gajic." David Warner's character was named after Goran.] panel because Goran Gajic had been sick the first day. David Eagle was very friendly and talked about what directors do. The assistant directors help run the stage and keep track of things so that the directors are free to worry about directing. When David Eagle directed Tim Choate as Zathras, he first saw Tim Choate in the Zathras make-up. Tim Choate stayed in the Zathras character even when he was being given directions. Then, Tim Choate's part was over and he left. A man approached David Eagle and said it had been a pleasure working with him. David Eagle had to ask who it was. It was Tim Choate!

Goran Gajic was very nice and friendly. As someone next to me pointed out, he wrinkles his nose when he laughs, just like Mira Furlan. Someone asked him if it was harder or easier to direct with Mira Furlan there. He said it was easier because they had worked together before and with Mira Furlan on the set he always had someone to talk to. He also related how he was encouraged to find a unique way to film a council scene. He was very nervous but he talked to the camera people and together they came up with the idea of shooting down from a high vantage point. He was told that this had absolutely never been done before. Goran wondered how someone could know this. It turns out that the set people had never had to paint the floor of the Council Chamber until then!

Next came Andreas Katsulas and Mira Furlan. Andreas Katsulas reported that Peter Jurasik, who was originally scheduled to be here but had heart surgery instead, was doing fine. Peter Jurasik had called Andreas Katsulas that morning and the two joked and exchanged insults. It sounds like all is well!

Andreas Katsulas related a few stunts that were pulled on the set. One time, Kim Ferry, the make-up and hair lady, took Andreas Katsulas' briefcase and hoisted it up on the catwalk! He also said that Joe Stracyznski would watch the actors at lunch and then turn what he saw into scenes in the scripts. Bruce Boxleitner and Jason Carter would have political discussions at lunch and these later turned up in the script. Andreas Katsulas was asked about his time on Star Trek. He said he was only on a few times and he didn't get the chance to interact much with the other actors. He also mentioned that he was a romantic hero in a movie in Greece and that he enjoyed that very much.

Mira Furlan talked about her time on Babylon 5, her life in Yugoslavia, and how she felt about leaving her 6 month old child alone for the first time. During the pilot, she was very unhappy with the make-up because so little of her showed. She said Andreas Katsulas talked with her about the make-up and was very helpful and supportive. Andreas Katsulas replied that Mira Furlan was very supportive of him and that she was always saying things to build people up. Mira Furlan said of her time as an actress in Yugoslavia that the hardest part of being an actress there was that there were no agents. The actors had to to negotiate their salaries themselves. Rehearsals could last for 2 to 3 months. People floated easily between theater, film, and TV. The arts were subsidized and even the biggest stars couldn't buy a house on just their earnings.

Next, Crusade!

Report 3b - ZimQ'Tar

The Director's Panel

(Note, Goran had been hanging around the set for years with his wife Mira but this was his first *Job* for the Babylon-5 production staff.)

Goran Gajic was talking about doing, as director, *And All my Dreams, Torn Asunder* (my fav. after SiL from S-5) and was just a little nervous doing his first ep. btw, the correct comment from the set person was "I never had to paint the f****** floor before". We all laugh.

A story from Goran. "After I had shot a lot of *high angle* shots in the *Council Chambers*, where a lot of the action takes place in AAMDTA, John Copeland (the producer, a god on the set) comes up and says: 'Joe and I have been going over the *dailies* and this sucks, we cannot use this film......we will use *stock* footage from past episodes, fill in with *voice overs* and CGI and still make the scenes work.....carry on with the rest of the shooting as planned', 'No Way.....I worked so hard to make this the best effort possible, my heart fell into my shoe". Just then (on the set) Mira and others come out and give Goran hugs......welcome to the family.

The Crusade Panel - Sojourner Mars

I really enjoyed meeting some of the Crusade actors at AgamemCon. I met Marjean Holden in an autograph line on the first day. She was there with her husband, Anton. She was very nice. I got the chance to tell her how much I had enjoyed what little we had seen of her character and that we had thrown a little Crusade party for its premier. She encouraged us to continue watching Crusade because it would get even better.

I enjoyed seeing Peter Woodward and David Allen Brooks at the Crusade panel. It was Peter Woodward's first convention but he seemed to enjoy it. He had a sly little smile and a twinkle in his eye. He talked about how he calls his father "Edward" because he can't call him "Daddy" on the set. He enjoyed being on the show with "Edward". He said that once during rehearsals "Edward" was playing a scene so broadly that the director was cringing. Peter Woodward wasn't worried because he knew his father was just flexing his acting muscles. Peter Woodward trained at RAMDA and the RSC. He came to the U.S.A. as a writer. He has also directed fighting scenes. When he talked about doing Macbeth, he called it "the Scottish Play". It is bad luck to call it anything else!

David Allen Brooks trained in New York. He was an English Literature major and he sold books to librarians! (This is of interest to me because I am a librarian!). He researched archaeology and linguistics to prepare for his role on Crusade. When asked, "Who do you serve and who do you trust?" he said that his character on Crusade is rather straightforward and trusts only himself. Peter Woodward didn't know how to answer this question for his character on Crusade.

They said that they are under contract until July 15th. After that point, they are free to take any acting work available. Crusade received a 1.9 rating for its first outing. In contrast, Sliders received a 1.0. For David Allen Brooks, the ending of Crusade was very sudden. He was told, "Don't come in Monday!" For Peter Woodward, it was a more gradual process. I hope that the cancellation is a temporary thing because I want to see more!

Space Panels at AgamemCon - Sojourner Mars

One of the of the great things about AgamemCon is the diversity of the offerings. There are great Babylon 5 and Crusade panels, there is the dealer's room, the fans in the autograph lines, and the space panels. There was a panel on the Mars Sample Return Missions that are coming up in 2003 and 2005. Two missions will land on Mars and use rovers to gather samples. The samples will then launch from Mars, be gathered up in orbit, and then returned to Earth. Did you know that NASA has a Planetary Protection Office that has been in existence for some time? They are studying how viruses spread on Earth to protect us from potential space viruses. They oversee all missions to space. NASA hopes to put humans on Mars by 2011. I hope they do!

There was also a panel called "What's Up In Space." The panelists mentioned that there are 17 extrasolar planets that have been found since 1995. Most of these planets orbit so close to their suns that they boil! They are like hot Jupiters. The panelists also discussed the possibility of space tourism and space hotels. I would absolutely love to go! I better start saving my money now because it will be expensive!

AgamemCon.....part, um....3, ah... - ZimQ'Tar

Drunk again......at the con. or here? No matter, ah....oh, yeah, right. Post.
damn job takes up way too much time

After Mira, Tim and Wayne's panel there is a huge signing table set up, with Jeff Conaway as a surprise guest (did not do any panels as far as I know), and Maggie Egan, Penny Marshall (from the original *Lost in Space*), plus others. Long lines.

Later, Mira and Andreas (filling in for Peter, who missed the con. because of illness) did a great panel until....and not negative at all....the topic of Kosovo came up. Both of them spoke of how stupid wars are (now I'm no liberal, nor are they), but it really brought the whole thing home when Mira talked about leaving her home in the former Yugoslavia, how everything went to hell there, coming to New York with Goran and having to start all over again. After being cast as Delenn in Babylon-5 and attending her first con. (after only a few eps.), she was overwhelmed by the support from this *fandom* thing. Welcome to the Family someone told her. And thus we have these cons. We all love the actors work and they love our support of their work, so nice to be able to share that love, face to face. Welcome to the family. That was a reoccurring theme throughout AgamemCon, we are all family, actors, directors, producers, writers, set, stunt people, and us fans. We all helped make Babylon-5 the greatest TV Sci-Fi series ever. They made it. We watched it, and everyone was happy at the last.

AgamemCon - The Last Day - Sojourner Mars

On the last day, I went to two behind-the-scenes panels, "A Day in the Life" and "The Set", the International Space Station panel, and a talk with J. Gregory Keyes, the author of the Psi Cops books. The day ended with the talk back to the Con Committee panel.

The "Day in the Life" and "The Set" panels showed what life was like on the set. The Extras on "A Day in the Life" talked about how important it was to work hard, be flexible, and be willing to make sacrifices. Extras don't want to be "established" in a shot. They want to remain relatively unnoticed so that they can keep coming back to work. In Severed Dreams, there was a scene where the bridge crew were told if they wanted to side with the Earth Alliance they needed to leave right then. One background person was picked to leave at that point. That action established him, so he couldn't work anymore as an Extra. The assistant director was very nice, though, and brought him back as an alien.

"The Set" was a huge panel with David Eagle, the director, costumers, grips, and other behind-the-scenes people. They were a fun bunch of people, who mentioned some of the pranks they pulled on the set. The painters used to write "Matt Plummer, Season 4" on the walls and get their supervisor, Matt Plummer, in trouble. When Joe Straczynski directed Sleeping in Light, he had Matt Plummer pop up during a blue screen scene, in homage to the hijinks on the set. The set people also made the ventriloquist dummy from Grey 17 Is Missing and a neon green inflatable alien pop up at odd moments. They all got the script one to two weeks before shooting so that they could prepare the costumes and sets and plan the shots.

David Eagle mentioned that he has been a science fiction fan for a long time. As a fourteen-year-old, David Eagle was a pen pal with Isaac Asimov. He met Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke at LunaCon in New York in 1969. He saw Arthur C. Clarke alone in an elevator and he excitedly told him he had watched 2001: A Space Odyssey many times and he enjoyed it but that he wanted to know what the ending meant. Arthur C. Clarke looked at him and looked at the gathering crowd and said the ending meant whatever you wanted it to mean. David Eagle also said that JPL came to the set and gave presentations to some of the staff. The information from JPL was often incorporated into the script. Based on information the creative staff of Babylon 5 gave JPL, JPL said the atmosphere for the Drakh homeworld would have a greenish tint. They used a green and yellow gel to get the effect. During A Call to Arms, two shuttle pilots visited the set. They were excited to be on the set and the people of Babylon 5 were excited to meet real astronauts!

The next major panel was "The International Space Station"... with Bruce Boxleitner (the President of OASIS). He had been scheduled to come to two panels but his wife, Melissa Gilbert, was seriously injured and so he couldn't come to the convention. At the Con Committee panel, I learned that it was Wayne Alexander who was instrumental in convincing Bruce Boxleitner to come to one panel. Bruce Boxleitner chose to come to this panel (the other one was a panel to hawk his book, along with Mr. Keyes). Bruce Boxleitner said that Melissa Gilbert was at her sister's and was in a neck brace. She was in a lot of pain. The crowd was very supportive of the situation and we all said how we hoped she would be better soon.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Bruce Boxleitner seemed to enjoy himself after awhile. He spoke eloquently about the pride he felt when he watched the astronauts walk out to their shuttle and launch into space. He said Jerry Doyle holds the Babylon 5 record for watching the most launches: 16 or 17. Bruce Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert have been to many launches as well. When they went to a launch of Atlantis, the technicians all wanted to know if Delenn and Sheridan were going to marry!

In addition to watching Bruce Boxleitner talk about space, I also enjoyed learning more about the International Space Station. The U.S.A., Russia, European Space Agency, Japan, Canada, Italy, and Brazil are all contributing their talents and expertise. When the Internationl Space Station, known as Alpha, is completed, it will be the third brightest object in the sky and will be as long as a football field and twice as wide. Many practical, new technologies will be developed in the process of making the project a reality. So far, the United States has gotten a two to seven-fold return on their investments from spin-offs in technology. Based on their years of experience with long-term trips in space, the Russians have provided a lot of advice on the project. The Russians increased the amount of time the astronauts will spend in exercise so that the astronauts will not be vegetables when they return home! Shannon Lucid, who I believe holds the American record for time in space, walked off the shuttle when she came home. Others have had to crawl off. Mir is actually the 8th Russian space station. The others were Soyuz 1 to 7. During lunches at Babylon 5, the actors and crew got to see slides from the Mir missions!

After the panel, Bruce Boxleitner was very gracious and stayed for autographs. This was very generous of him because it had been stated at one point that there would be no autographs.

J. Gregory Keyes' panel was very small and informal. Everyone was out getting Bruce Boxleitner's autograph. Since I already had his autograph, I stayed to hear about J. Greogry Keyes. It turns out that he is a long-time science fiction fan. He spoke about the ebb and flow in the fortunes of science fiction during the 1960s and 1970s. He said that currently, fantasy is more popular than science fiction. He is also a big Babylon 5 fan. He was sitting next to an editor at WorldCon when Babylon 5 won a Hugo. The editor turned to him and asked him if he wanted to write a Babylon 5 novel about Bester and the Psi Cops. Being a fan of Bester and the Psi Cops, Mr. Keyes said yes! He was only given 3 characters to start with and was told to create an organization that would create someone like Bester. He created everything else. J. Gregory Keyes shared some of his insights into Bester's character. He said that Bester thinks Sheridan should understand him because, like Bester, Sheridan can make the hard decisions. Bester knows that his actions may not be popular but they are for a good cause so they are worth doing. The normals aren't really human anyhow. J. Gregory Keyes also mentioned that Peter David, who is writing the Centauri trilogy, is Londo Mollari! There will also be a technomage trilogy.

The last panel was the talk-back panel with the Con Committee. I usually don't go to those types of panels but this one was very interesting. The Con Committee talked about some of the difficulties they faced in putting on this convention and what they would try to do differently in the future. At the very end, they announced that DeForest Kelley had passed away. We had a moment of silence. I was very sad to hear that he had passed away but I found comfort in hearing the news while I was amongst the fan family.

In conclusion, I loved AgamemCon. I enjoyed the panels, the gracious speakers, and the fans. Even the autograph lines were fun! While in one autograph line, we talked about the possibility that Poltergeist would not be coming back to SciFi Channel, which would mean that they might have room for Crusade. I already have my membership to AgamemCon in 2000. It will be a great convention. Why don't you join me and see all the fun for yourself?

Aggy...the Masquerade - ZimQ'Tar

Sojourner Mars.....Great post, my Sunday was way more laid back as I pulled the least desirable security shift of all...more on that later. I do the Crusade panel while Andreas is signing outside the convention center as he smokes, not allowed inside any building here in CA. Nice day, why not? Peter Woodward and David Allen Brooks are cool, funny and wondering what's next? Everyone here knows the fate of Crusade so they're trying to make the best of a bad situation for them as actors, not knowing if they'll be working. I wait until Andreas' line is down to nothing while having a smoke, then come up and say "you still owe me a smoke from outside the restaurant at VORcon, remember?"(see VORcon topic), He laughs, "sure,(?) you want one?" No, instead I buy a nice signed pix of him as G'Kar to add to my collection, now I have two :-) Time for some supper, there are a bunch of con. people ordering from a delivery menu, I check it out, nice pasta dish, with salad $8.95, I'm in. Mike Berg (head of security) asks if I can work the stage door for the masquerade? Sure, NP

We start to set up at 18:00, first off is to get all the tables and chairs set up right. Hotel staff work with Cat Devereaux to make things ready as she is running this event. Then I'm told all the people who will *star* will have been pre-registered and MUST HAVE their Aggy badge's with them to enter backstage. This caused some funny moments for me as some of the participants, while getting ready for the event, forgot about *cred's* to get in! One *ranger* had his pinned inside his cape, thank you. Another lady had hers pinned to her bra, under her costume, thank you, and a couple of folks I let slide as the woman working the *check-in* table had them listed as participants. So everyone is making the final adjustments to their costumes while Sandra Deakins (staff photographer) is shooting *polaroids* to be used by the judges. I take this chance to get some great pix of the people with their costumes on. Alec and Pam (con. orgainizers) are there wearing perfect Ranger costumes.....so I ask, after they were kind enough to allow a foto. Those were made by the Babylon-5 costume dept., yes? Yes. Great to be connected I think. Well the stage manager *Bear* gives everyone some last instructions about being on stage. They had already done a *cold* walk through on the stage, without the crowd and the lights. Plus we all have to be real quiet now as the crowd is filing in just a few feet away into panel room *A*.Shusssssssh, whisper only please! "Remember, follow the taped lines on the floor of the stage, stay within the [.....] marks as this is being filmed on video, exit down the stairs, stage left, it's dark but someone will be there to assist you down, have fun and do your best."

And have fun they did.

Zim makes a mental note to get all these person's RL names next time

The winner in the *out of your closet* category was a gal wearing a dress with a full hoop, featuring a *cat* motif, multi-colored, under a *cat* vest. Very nice. In the *most orginial* class was a gal from Dublin, Ireland who wore a Psi-Cop uniform, BUT, with *rainbow hand-knited* gloves and socks, a different kind of Psi-cop to be sure. The *professional* category was won by a woman wearing a *full Centauri empress* dress, she must be in the biz, as her dress was a white floor length complete with embroidery, lace and gold piping, plus that medieval *tall hat thing*(sorry don't know the name for that) with her long blonde hair hanging out the back, very well done. The *best of show* was won by two gals from San Diego who came as *tie-fighter pilots* from Star-Wars. Wearing orange jumpsuits with white web-gear, plus plastic weapons and authentic *Star Wars* breast plates, they took the top prize.

Later we went over to the A/V room to watch the vid. from the Masquerade. At the dance afterwards I had the chance to dance with some of the winners.....Woo Hoo. These con's. are so much fun.

Aggy...Sun. It's a wrap, baby - ZimQ'Tar

Check out time is noon.

Ring, ring, ring......damn phone will not stop!!! Ah, now I remember why. I had stopped by the front desk during my trips back and forth from the hotel bar during the room parties and asked them to ring me @ 10:00 and please don't stop until I answer. I knew I would be up late and no doubt *pissed to the gills*. Planing ahead. At Breakfast I see some people from last night, we exchange knowing smiles...too much to drink, I think...only one cure...a bloody mary in a tall glass with a shot of Tabasco...hummm, better now. They serve a *Joe's Special* here (Joe's from SF restaurant fame), ground beef with spinach, onions, garlic and spices, and scrambled eggs on a platter...yummmm, the best. Back to the room to get organized, careful with those signed pics!

Thanks again to Sojourner Mars for the reports from the *A Day in the Life* and *The Set* panels as I missed both of them.

I was hanging around the dealers room looking for last minute deals when Mike asked, "Can you cover for Garybaldi on the *Green room* hallway?." Ah, sure.

Thing is at the Masquerade, Pam Buck and others were really bummed out 'cause Bruce Boxleitner was having a family emergency and could not attend Aggy on Sun. It seems Wayne (thanks Sojourner Mars for the info.), called Bruce and he would in fact attend as all the fans were here, plus he was a big draw for the OASIS panel...so...I go to secure the hallway to the *Green Room*.

Now the *Green Room* is where all the guests get ready to do whatever they have to do at the con., a secure area, but on Sun. at this time, it's well, pretty boring. So I grab a chair and settle in. I thus get a chance to talk with Katie Waitman as she passes by about writing SF (now remember, we are in a hallway leading to the *Green Room*), we talk about writers like Philip K. Dick and Frank Herbert's work, that I loved in the 70's, and how that has lead to TV series like Babylon-5. Thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me. Next down the hallway, hummmmmm, all the *heavyweights* are coming.

More later

AgamemCon III, *It's a wrap baby*, pt. 2 - ZimQ'Tar

Heads up, here comes Pam, Alec, Mike, Gary and Todd, moving fast, with someone in the middle, getting closer, Hey it's Bruce Boxleitner, he passes by without even making eye contact, well I am only a security hack after all, and into the *green room*. (Remember now, all the head security people plus Alec and Pam are wearing cool black Aggy *golf shirts* and are using two-way radio's with those head-sets, ear phone with mike, and look, well like security. Not me, nope, just a normal guy.) A fellow comes out and asks me to stand when Bruce passes by on his way to the OASIS panel, I think " Hey pal, I'm working a lot of the shifts nobody else wants, did not get a *security* or even a *volunteer* badge (use of the Con. suite access) and here you are giving me grief 'cause I'm 'sitting' in this exciting hallway post away from the Con. so others can have fun there, screw you". However, I stand.....if this is such a big deal to them, it means nothing to me, NBD. Bruce passes by again to do his panel. Everyone putting this Con. on is so happy he is able to attend as are the fans and the OASIS people. The star has arrived.

Now things get real quiet in my hallway. The *International Space Station* folks need an overhead projector to do their panel. I find someone from the A/V staff, done. Then Kristian Sorensen and John Bro from *Space, Above and Beyond* show up, "Where is the green room?" - "Right down the hallway." I reply. Kristian was the Military Advisor for SAaB and he played a *Chig* on the show. Now he runs a company that provides actors with military training and weapons skills to the studios (heads up Gizmo) to add realism to the *shoot*. John Bro is a hoot. First he gives me a signed trading card ("used to get $6 for these when the show was on") and then tells me about being an extra in the film *Godzilla*. "Got to really get into the part" and he gets really into the part, shouting at the top of his lungs, KILL, KILL, ARGGGGG, ARGGGGGG, KILL. Whoa, I was not ready for that and I'm hoping nobody called 911, LOL. Everyone else is at the OASIS panel.

Bruce is gone and the Con. is over, well not quite. Jason Carter is hanging chatting with fans when Wayne walks into the lobby of the main Con. area. Lots of folks are as me, hanging around, waiting for planes etc., and Jason shouts out, "Look everyone it's *Wayne Alexander*, Lorien, Jack, Look, Look". Wayne looks a little stunned.....everyone that's left applauds with catcalls, whistles and all.....we all smile and laugh.....man this Con. was fun. A fine farewell indeed. I get a chance to talk with Bill Blair again as he is putting away his display. Myself and a few others ask him about what's it like to work in all that makeup and never get the chance to do a speaking role on *Babylon-5*? Bill says, "When the role of the Drazi priest was first written and was cast for the S-5 ep. *The Day of the Dead* I had a speaking part, until they heard me speak in that makeup, sounded like, "h^"loo, we4{0>t~~~ to B^^|*oon-5", so I never had the chance to play a speaking part in over 40 B-5 ep's". Thanks Bill.

Well that's it. It's a wrap, baby. This Con. was different from VORcon. because there were a lot more people from behind the camera as well as the big stars of SciFi shows like Babylon-5 and others, plus there was some real science here too. I asked a panel member from the *Mars Mission* "What's the real chance we'll ever be on Mars like in current scifi TV shows?" His reply, "we have to conquer the first 100 miles first". That brings it home. Not only are we not there yet, we ain't hardly even started! Thanks to Alec Orrock and Pam Buck for making all this possible. All the actors who were there as well as all the production staff, writers, directors, set, makeup, costume and stunt crew and everyone else who made AgamemCon III fly.