World Science Fiction Convention 'WorldCon' Report

Anaheim, CA Aug 23-27, 2006
Charlotte Carl-Mitchell

Day One, Wednesday, August 23, 2006

We left Scottsdale at 5 till 6am. The Prius we rented had a very small trunk so our stuff wasn't very well hidden or protected. Smoot took his golf clubs, but ended up not playing. The trip was uneventful. I'd brought a bunch of cd cases that turned out not to have the disks in them. : < I played a ST and a SW one and then one from the 60s which was fun. We drove through the pass near Palm Beach and saw a windmill farm and had a good natured disagreement/bet as to whether some of the mills had two arms instead of three.

Forest of Windmills by Ron Dippold, http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/West/California/Palm_Springs/photo59068.htm

I drove the last part, into the crowded city traffic which was unusual, but it left Smoot free to do the navigating. The car was like most except when it stopped and there was no sound, that was almost spooky. We had reservations at the Anaheim Hilton right next to the Convention Center, very convenient.

The photos above are from the Anaheim Hilton website

The photos above and below are of the same kind of room we had, but taken by Andrew Wheeler.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28171955@N00/page3/

We arrived around noon giving us time for Smoot to check us into the hotel (getting a suite front room with fold-down bed, the only one available if we wanted to check in immediately) and for me to pick up our registration material and badges.

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We made it to the opening ceremonies right at 1pm, the starting time. The ceremony started with a 15 minute episode of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, complete with commercials. It got a lot of laughs. Why do we think people in the future will wear silly clothes?

Tom Corbett and his buddies

Pics from Kevin Standlee, http://kevin-standlee.livejournal.com/181844.html

Then Kevin Standlee, WSFS business meeting presider, had a skit with the heads of the previous con in Glascow, Colin Harris and Vincent Docherty. They introduced the head of the LA Con, Christian McGuire who gave the Scots a package of tartan colored "So Long and Thanks for All the Haggis" badge ribbons. He then introduced the Guests of Honor, including the two who had passed away, Howard DeVore and Frankie Thomas. Connie Willis, the writer guest of honor said a few words, including answering frequently asked questions, starting with, "No, I haven't finished my next novel yet." She was funny.

The L.A.con IV Committee presented her with a framed movie poster.

She appeared to be delighted with the gift, and admitted to having had a crush on Van Johnson when she was growing up. Mr. McGuire then produced the Gavel of WSFS and officially called the convention to order and another Worldcon was under way. After the opening ceremony, we went to the exhibit hall. The first thing you saw was an impressive row of robots.

There was also replica of the TOS bridge display in the exhibit hall.

Smoot took a photo of me in front of the Star Trek bridge set.

Forty years ago, on September 8th, 1966, Star Trek debuted on television. Days earlier, the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, flew to Cleveland, Ohio and the 24th World Science Fiction Convention to preview his new series for the science fiction fans gathered there. He came, along with Sam Peeples, a writer for the series, and screened two episodes: the original pilot, The Cage, and What Little Girls Are Made Of. They spoke, extolling the wonders of their series. They also brought three women's costumes and models to display them. Who would have ever guessed 40 years later that show would still be alive, if not on TV then fan made films on the Net.

TOS bridge display in the exhibit hall where you could have your photo taken in uniform standing in it.

I'd decided to attend the Star Trek track primarily which turned out to have a session at just about every time slot. I was amazed. There were also programs on Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Buffy, etc, a lot more on media scifi than I'd expected. There were events going on day and night, way too much for old folks like us! The exhibit area was interesting, a lot more booksellers than at ST cons, as one would expect from a gathering of literary folk.

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Photos above and below by Andrew Wheeler , http://www.flickr.com/photos/28171955@N00/

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Art Center above, Mars Rover below

Photos above and below from Larry Sanderson, http://public.fotki.com/lsanderson/sf_conventions/lacon_iv/

Smoot wanted this flying saucer in the Spaceport Lounge food court!

The first session I attended was #12 at 2:30

"STAR TREK: YEAR 41 & COUNTING Come hear about all the new Star Trek projects, from video games to traveling exhibits to the first ever Star Trek "manga" from the people involved with making them happen, Paula Block, John Van Citters, Terry Erdmann, and others." The panelists were adamant that ST wasn't dead, that it still had a future, not only the upcoming theatrical film but also in different formats, games, comics and fan-made online films.

At 4 I went to #36,

"STAR TREK FANDOM TODAY The world of Star Trek Fandom is different today than it was in the '60s and '70s. What's out there? What don't I know about? How can I get more involved? Marah Searle-Kovacevic(M), Lee Whiteside, Jacqueline Lichtenberg." It was interesting but dominated by JL and her own memories. The panelists agreed that the Internet had changed fandom, making it possible for people to create communities, share stories and interests in ways not possible before.

At 5:30 I went to #79

JAMES T. KIRK: THREAT OR MENACE Was a larger-than-life scenery-chewing damn-the-Prime-Directive-full-speed-ahead heroic starship commander the one primary thing responsible for the enduring success of classic Star Trek? Is the absence of such a character why the following Star Trek series all lacked the same punch? Or should there have been more discretion, more consideration before acting? Is Jean Luc Picard the model to follow? Richard Arnold(M), D.C. Fontana, Lance Sibley, Bridget Landry, Chris M. Barkley."

The panelists agreed that the captains were reflective of the world in which their series were made, not of whatever future they were supposedly living in.

Marti had left her number for us so we called her and arranged to have supper with her and her friends then go with them to the opening reception. The program had encouraged people to come in costume so I wore my least obvious ST uniform, in deference to Smoot. He usually won't stand anywhere near me when I'm in my uniform !

"BABEL CONFERENCE AMBASSADORIAL RECEPTION Come join us and your host, David Gerrold, for a reception welcoming everyone to this year's Worldcon and our Star Trek 40th Anniversary Celebration. Star Trek costumes invited. John Trimble, Bjo Trimble, David Gerrold(M)"

Turns out Marti had met Bjo at previous WorldCons but hadn't realized her Trek connection. She'd hope to get to chat with Bjo at the reception, but she didn't seem to remember Marti, which was a disappointment.

Chase Masterson was there, barely clothed. We chatted with Marti and her friends, ate some cake and then crashed, tired from the busy day.

Day Two, Thursday, August 24, 2006

We decided to splurge and have the breakfast buffet at the Hilton. It cost $17 each, a bit pricey for what was available. Smoot was disappointed they didn't have toast.

We hurried over to the convention center, luckily located right next to the Hilton, to attend the first ST session of the day, #130 at 10am

"THE "LOOK" OF STAR TREK Rick Sternbach, long time Senior Illustrator and Technical Consultant for most all versions of Star Trek from the first film on, presents a slide show of his artwork for Star Trek. Rick Sternbach"

He said the photo on the screen above was a publicity shot, showing him hard at work. He did have some interesting things to say about how he designed things for ST, especially ships. He said he thought Cardassians were like ancient Egyptians so he made their ships look like upside down anks! Smoot went to #117, "OVERRATED FILMS & OVERLOOKED MOVIES There are some films with a bad reputation but which are really quite good. There are some films with a good rep which are just dogmeat. A few highly opinionated film fans will discuss these overrated films and overlooked movies with the aide of the audience. Adam-Troy Castro, MaryAnn Johanson, Frank Wu, Mark R. Leeper(M), Dr. John L. Flynn" He'd only seen The Matrix of the films they discussed.

Next was #163 at 11:30

"MARINA SIRTIS - NEXT GEN AND BEYOND As the ship's counselor on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Marina Sirtis had a character who changed drastically through the seven years of the series. Hear her tell about it and answer questions about what really went on and how she brought more depth to her half-betazoid mind-reading mental healer. Marina Sirtis"

She was funny but bitchy. She ended her talk by thanking the fans for her house, car and husband, but Elizabeth, who sat next to me, said that off stage Marina is very dismissive and insulting about fans. I can believe it. She was certainly insulting about the French and French Canadians.

At a break, I realized that Thursday evening was the only one we'd have free so I called my niece, Bev Beall Siniscalchi and with just a few hours notice, she invited us over to their place in Yorba Linda for supper. Luckily Yorba Linda isn't far from Anaheim.

We stayed in the same big room for #194

"FREE ENTERPRISE - THE SPECIAL EDITION REVEALED See the new, expanded special edition of Free Enterprise, the legendary cult classic about two sci-fi fans who meet their idol William Shatner and find out he's even more screwed up than they are. Starring Eric McCormack and William Shatner as himself, you can watch it in the comfort of fellow geeks just like you. Featuring new scenes and special effects! The new 2 DVD Special Edition was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in March 2006, but this is the first time to be able to see it projected on the big screen, and, for the very first time, with an introduction and Q&A by the creators themselves, no, not Jackson Roykirk, but writer/producer Mark A. Altman and director/writer Robert Meyer Burnett. See it again for the very first time -- unless, of course, this is your first time. Mark Altman, Robert Meyer Burnett"

I'd heard of the movie but not seen it. It wasn't what I expected at all. This was before Shatner had reinvented himself, but he was on the way. It was funny, but the 20-30 year old guys were such losers! There were a lot of quotes from movies, mainly ST and SW.

There wasn't an ST session in the next time slot nor any other one I was interested in so I wandered through the exhibit hall again. I bought a small pack of (probably illegal) Russian SW cards and a purple t-shirt for Jency's b'day.

At 5:30 I went to #339

STAR TREK: BETWEEN THE CRACKS Forget the current hiatus! Reminisce and rifle through 40 years of Star Trek's "attic trunk". Visit the Paramount stages and catch some of the oddballs-and-ends, all from the photo and art collection of author and editor Larry Nemecek. The humor, the what-ifs, the bizarre -- even a little metaphysics. And oh yeah -- some all-new blooper stills, to boot. Come ready with the loving yet witty cat-calls. Larry Nemecek"

It was okay but not really what was advertised. I didn't see any blooper stills. I left early so we could get ready to go to Bev's, We got directions and drove for about 20 minutes and found their place.

The pics above are of them in front of their 4,200 sq ft house. His Porche must be in the garage to the left.

The photo above is of our great niece Ava balanced on top of her indoor playhouse with the rose Madeline gave her in NY showing me how she can climb on the roof to turn on the light and fan! I'm still amazed at how articulate and poised she is for her age.

These pics were taken in their backyard. Nate liked popping the little tomatoes in his mouth, then spitting them out! I was surprised to discover he's not the 'gentle Ben' child I thought he'd be, like his uncle Ben, but is instead just as feisty and challenging as Ava. I feel for Bev having two kids with her strong personality! But she does a great job with both of them. I think the one of Smoot and Ava on the swing is really cute.

I'm amazed how well the one of us holding Ava and Nathan came out since he was so reluctant to let me hold him and had just the instant before been crying loudly. Bev knew just how to distract him, letting him hold her camera, to get this great shot.

Ava helping me blow out the candles on my b'day cake.

Above, Ava striking a dramatic pose with us and Bev. It was fun getting to visit with Bev and her family. We made a video tape of her giving us a tour of her house.

Day Three, Friday, August 25, 2006

Friday morning we decided to skip the expensive buffet and get cereal for breakfast. Then I was off to the center for session #389

"INTRODUCTION TO KLINGON 80% of the grammar in 50 minutes, from one of the leading lights in Klingon linguistics. Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen"

There were two ST related sessions at 10am, but I decided to go to this Klingon lesson and it was fun. He answered my long time question about the weird capitalization (to remind people it's an alien language and not pronounced the way we think the letters should be).

There wasn't a ST session at 11:30 so we went back to the exhibit hall and found Obishawn, Shawn Crosby, at his X-wing car.

He is obviously known by lots of people, who kept stopping by to say hi. Shawn and his group, Lux Theater were to be the half-time entertainment at the masquerade and he and his wife were busy getting ready for it.

At the next time slot, 1pm, there were two sessions I was interested in,

#471 "WOMEN OF STAR TREK Women on Star Trek sometimes seem to come in only two types: steely-eyed, super serious and hotties. Neither one is a very real character. What does it take to bring one of these characters to life, to add depth and real emotion? Or do you just have fun with it Marina Sirtis, Chase Masterson, BarBara Luna, Suzie Plakson."

And #467 "STAR WARS: A LOOK BACK, A LOOK FORWARD Thirty years ago some cast and crew of a small, strange, and mostly unknown science-fiction/fantasy film that would open the following year came to the 34th World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City. For hundreds of thousands of fans across the world, things have never been quite the same. Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet, head of fan relations, takes us back to that time with rare photos and explains how The Star Wars Corporation really started the whole idea of fan outreach for a movie. Now three decades later, George Lucas has completed his six-movie saga -- but Star Wars hasn't even entered middle age. Find out what's next for the saga: two television series, interactive gaming with compelling stories, and more -- and have a chance to ask Steve your questions. Steve Sansweet"

The SW session was in the big room with the big screens but only had around 50 people; the ST one was in a small room that was filled, SRO. I decided to go back and forth between the two. Steve Sansweet had brought slides and video that were interesting, but when he got into the SW video games, I left and checked out what tacky things Marina Sirtis was saying. He wasn't listed, but Richard Arnold was the moderator of the panel.

The most interesting thing to come from this Women in Star Trek panel was how surprised the panelists were that few people had seen them before. They clearly had forgotten that WorldCon was a more literary focused group. In fact, when Marina snippily asked where the audience had been the last 20 years, "under a rock?" someone yelled out "Reading!" A perfect response to the panelists who had expected the audience to be filled with the kind of Trek fans they were used to seeing at ST cons, people who'd heard their spiels and knew the answers to all the common questions.

At 2:30 I searched and tracked down the session

#520 "WRITING CLASSIC TREK Some of the writers of the original Star Trek series talk about the days that were. Did they know they were changing the future? David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, Bob Sabaroff"

David was as usual full of himself. DC got caught on Highway 5 and spent 2 hours getting from LA to Anaheim. She was late and frazzled but still had some good stories.

At 4pm Walter Koenig spoke about being Chekov and Bester.

#556 "AN HOUR WITH WALTER KOENIG Starting in the 1960s, Walter Koenig's Paval Chekov has been a part of Star Trek's long history, on television and in motion pictures. And Chekov's had a career in Star Trek novels as well. This year, Chekov completes his story in New Voyages, being done for the Internet. Walter Koenig will tell us about his adventures as Chekov and with Star Trek and beyond. Walter Koenig"

Koenig was much more gracious than Marina and made it clear he realized the WorldCon audience was different from the usual con groups. He admitted his favorite character was Bester and that the "Be seeing you." comment Bester made was indeed an homage to The Prisoner. But he dropped it when Straczynski decided it was too obvious. Koenig also showed a clip from the fan made ST Ôwebisode' To Serve All My Days in which he stars again as Chekov and seemed excited about the future of shows like that. DC Fontana wrote the script. George Takei is also going to star in an episode, World Enough and Time. And David Gerrold, the author of the TOS episode Trouble with Tribbles is writing a script for the new venture that has the blessing of the Roddenberry estate.

I skipped the 5:30 slot so we could have Mexican food with Marti, her treat, at the Marriott. Then we went together to the Masquerade.

"MASQUERADE Traditionally one the highlights of the convention. Costuming experts from around the world sometimes spend the entire year preparing for this event. Come see what they've created. And while the judges deliberate, L.A.'s own Lux Theater takes over the stage for halftime with "Lux After Dark!" Set at L'Etoile Rouge, Space Academy's own Kingdom of Night-time pleasures, witness a tale of passion, jealousy, and betrayal among the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld. Plus singing, dancing, and the galaxy's most infamous Can-Can Dancers! Phil Foglio, MC"

We got to the arena around 6:30 when the doors opened, thinking we needed to be there that early to get good seats. We didn't, but we were able to save seats for her friends. I tried to make a video but there wasn't enough light.

I found the photos of the masquerade by Larry Sanderson at http://public.fotki.com/lsanderson/sf_conventions/lacon_iv/20060825_afternoon/

Dancing with Celebrities from the Stars

Harmony and Discord - won Best Workmanship

Dreaming of the Stars - won Best Original

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - won Best Recreation

Left- Handmaiden of Sauron, won Most Beautiful; Right - Reunion (of Ents)

Red Badge of Courage - won Honorable Mentioin

The Spamish Inquisition

Trinity Blood - won Best in Show

Day Four, Saturday, August 26, 2006. My 56th birthday.

I'd brought my gifts and cards from home so I could open them on the official day. Here are some pics of me going through my stuff. In addition to the trip, Smoot gave me a gold necklace with the Unitarian chalice on it. You can see I'm wearing it in the photo.

We went downstairs and were surprised the breakfast kiosk wasn't there so we tried to get to the Spaceport Lounge in the center, but realized it wouldn't open until 10 so we went back to the Hilton and found the Con hospitality suite on the 5th floor.

The photo above from the Hilton site shows what the Con suite looked like, except the table was more covered with food. The curtains cover doors that go onto an open party area. The Con suite had lots of breakfast stuff including a toaster. After all Smoot's complaints about the Hilton buffet not having toast, when he had access to one, he had a bagel instead!

The first session I'd wanted to see at 10am was Galaxy Quest Revealed where the writer was to talk about the film but he called in sick. We'd already seen the movie so we left.

I then went to #664 "THE FUTURE IS NOW! Flip-open communicators and the global central computer were science fiction twenty-five years ago. Today cell phones and the internet are ubiquitous. Technological advance keeps turning science fiction's starry eyed dreams into reality -- almost. This panel discusses SF dreams come true, and how the reality has turned out to differ from the vision. Stephen Eley, Jerry Pournelle, Mark von Schlegell"

The topic was interesting, but Jerry Pournelle, on the right, was acting like a self-absorbed jerk so I left.

At 11:30am we went to #716

"STAR TREK: BEHIND THE CAMERA FROM BEHIND A CAMERA Star Trek's longtime assistant director Mike DeMeritt presents a slide show of crew-taken photos of behind-the-scenes moments on Star Trek Enterprise. Mike DeMeritt (M)"

The session was interesting. When the show started using digital photos for continuity instead of polaroids, they had more archival shots. There were also more cast and crew who took photos. He showed a funny set of photos when a friend of Scott Bakula won a big trophy (can't remember for what). He brought it to the set and put it in the captain's chair. Lots of people wanted their photos taken with it!

At 1pm, I went to #748

"THE FIRST STAR TREK CONVENTIONS What were they like? Who could have guessed so many thousands would show up? What's different between the Star Trek conventions of today and the ones of the earliest days? And how do the "Creation Cons" fit into the mix? Linda Deneroff, Diane Duane, Bjo Trimble, Devra Langsam, Ben Yalow (M)"

It was amazing how many people in the audience had gone to the earliest cons and had great memories and stories to tell. Lots of creative entertainment people got the spark to work in the field from going to cons as small children, when the events were more open to kids. Now with high costs and liability issues, kids don't have the free run they did in the early days.

At 2:30, I went to #806

"THE HISTORY OF STAR TREK John & Bjo Trimble present a slide show on the history of Star Trek, from the 1960s to now. John Trimble, Bjo Trimble" It was somewhat interesting, but I got tired of listening to Bjo's annoying laugh at her own lame jokes.

At 4 pm, I had three choices, a session on SW, one on ST's New Voyages or the musical HMS Trek-a-Star. I decided to go to the SW one, but also sneak over to the musical just to see what it was about.

#846 "STAR WARS: THE SAGA COMPLETED It's been almost thirty years but now the story is complete. How has the tale changed over the decades? The original films seemed to be about Luke. But the newer films are all about Darth Vader. Just whose story is it? Did advances in special effects hurt or help? Ric Meyers(M), Kevin Rubio, MaryAnn Johanson, Robert Vogel"

The panelists all agreed that the SW saga went downhill after Ep 4 & 5, mainly because Lucas changed.

HMS TREK-A-STAR A revival of the (in)famous operetta first performed at Westercon XX in 1967.

I only stayed at the ST musical for a few moments. The singing was a bit too painful.

I'd gotten phone calls from Jency and from Leonard, both singing happy birthday as well as Madeline and Catherine. I decided that I was tired and skipped the 5:30 session and went back to the room to call Madeline. We had a nice long chat then I had to change to go to supper before the Hugos.

On the way to the restaurant, we saw these fairies from the masquerade, Harmony and Discord

It was to be my b'day supper, but we had to wait 30 minutes at the Italian restaurant in the Hilton so I didn't even have time for an entree much less a cake. : < That was disappointing. We walked into the Hugos just as the lights were going down.

#904 "HUGO AWARDS CEREMONY The Oscars of the science fiction world. David A. Kyle, Harlan Ellison, Connie Willis, Craig Miller"

The photos below are from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, Fahttp://www.midamericon.org/photoarchive/06worldconh1.htm

There was a running gag about Robert Silverburg trying to take over the awards ceremony from Connie Willis, the offical MC.

Silverberg asked Connie to autograph a book for him!

The Hugo Winners

Day Five, Sunday, August 27, 2006

I'd planned to go to some sessions on Sunday, but decided I was too tired and would rather start the drive home. I did want to get the most recent newsletter. We again got breakfast at the Con suite then went to the center one last time. A nice man offered to take our photo.

We left around 10:30 and were home before 5, Smoot having made sure I saw that there were two-bladed windmills on the way home!

It was a fun convention, with lots more activities than we could have ever attended. But I feel like I got a taste of WorldCon and saw the differences between it and other more media focused cons. I don't think I'll go to next year's in Japan, but may attend another WorldCon when it comes back to the States.