Darren and I returned yesterday from visiting the Collectormania 11 convention held in Milton Keynes over the bank holiday weekend. This was my second visit to the city of Milton Keynes and bar future Collectormania conventions I won't be returning soon.
Don't get me wrong, it would be unfair to disparage Milton Keynes solely based off the small segment of the city we visited over the weekend, but the prefabricated construction and grid layout we experienced made me believe I was trapped inside Toytown on steroids. I mentioned to Darren that it reminded me of one gigantic skateboarding park - all the concrete, steel and glass panelled exteriors making everything appear cold and artificial. I understand the thinking that was behind the construction of Milton Keynes, the first of a new generation of new towns, but to quote a line from Prince Charles - the place is a "concrete carbuncle".
Unfortunately for Daz and I the convention was held at The Centre: Mk, one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and the longest covered centre in Europe. Basically if your idea of hell is being trapped in a shrine to corporate greed with alters dedicated to the Gods of Starbucks, McDonalds and Costa Coffee etc. then look no further. Believe me when I say that if Dawn of the Dead was happening in Milton Keynes I wouldn't be taking refuge in The Centre: MK as the zombies are the ones inside of this shopping mall.
I suppose we should be grateful that we even made it to the convention as fate seemed destined to prevent us from arriving. We left for the train station at 5.30am and made our pre-booked train at 6.10am only for it to stop and start three times before finally pulling out 40 minutes late. I had this gut feeling that the train wouldn't make it to Birmingham and was proven correct 5 minutes later as it slowly limped back to Derby station. Virgin trains provided us with a replacement service but we'd now missed our pre-booked connection at Birmingham New Street and in the time that they'd attempted to fix our original train we could have caught another train to Birmingham and made our connection.
Arriving at Birmingham we bought a couple of cups of expensive coffee just so we could sit down for a while and let off some steam before making our connecting train and arriving in Milton Keynes - or so we thought. As we supposedly approached Milton Keynes train station we were informed by the driver that there had been a fatality on the tracks and the train station we were arriving at wasn't Milton Keynes but Northampton! Daz and I just looked at each other with this slow look of dread forming over our faces.
As we stepped off the train we came to realise that there was no way in hell that we were leaving this station as hundreds upon hundreds of people were debarking from all the diverted trains and milling around trying to look for any possible escape. Luckily, it was pretty easy to spot our fellow convention geeks so we approached two people who were getting a taxi to Milton Keynes and made a deal to share their ride and split the cost four ways. Finally, we made the convention - 3 1/2 hours late.
We originally deciding to book a hotel room because Michael Biehn was scheduled to appear on the Sunday (until he cancelled) so unfortunately this meant we had to carry our bags until checking in time which was about 1pm. Daz and I hate shopping centres and having to carry 3 bags whilst fighting against the tide of buggies, motorised scooters and families of screaming kids was enough to make both of us lose our tempers.
Collectormania operate a virtual ticketing policy which is where they provide you with a numbered ticket for a scheduled time frame to which you can queue up for a particular guest. This allows you to plan your day around your guests therefore preventing you needlessly queuing for hours on end and probably missing some of other guests you may have wanted to meet. Luckily for Daz and I we didn't want to meet any of the Buffy and Angel guests which were almost out of virtual tickets by the time we'd arrived. Our guests had pretty much open queues in the afternoon meaning that no virtual ticketing was required - you could just walk right up and join the end of the queue anytime.
Being a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan I made a beeline for Rene Auberjonois who played the shapeshifting Founder Odo. He gladly signed my Worlds of Deep Space Nine: The Dominion and Ferenginar book, a photo and a group poster. Daz commented that he was real gentlemen taking time to shake his hand even though he himself wasn't there to meet him. Rene came across as very sweet and genuine taking time to answer all of my questions in his quiet calm voice.
Next I proceed to make my way to meet Aron Eisenberg who played the Ferengi Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. When he was 17, Aron received a kidney transplant having been born with only one kidney that wasn't working properly and stunted his growth at 5' (1.52 m). He came across as full of energy and enthusiasm. He might have only been the most recurring guest character in the television series but in the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, his character Nog, plays a much larger important role. When I handed him my Deep Space Nine novel, Mission Gamma: Cathedral to autograph he was so made up with the book. He said
After checking into the hotel we walked back free of our bags which made a big difference to our enjoyment of the convention. Note to self for next time - try and do the whole convention in one day if possible and leave the overnight bags at home!
Made my way to see William Sanderson who played my favorite character in Blade Runner, that of J.F. Sebastian. William Sanderson is often found playing tragicomical roles and can most recently be seen in brilliant HBO series Deadwood. He happily obliged to sign my Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner book which is considered the bible for all Blade Runner fans and a photograph of him and Rutger Hauer. Now all I need is Rutger to attend a convention to get his autograph "I want more autographs fucker!" - That would be perfect!
And so to my main reason for coming to Collectormania 11- well joint main reason if Michael Biehn hadn't cancelled at the very last moment, that of meeting Avery Brooks better known as Captain Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and all round cool dude - Hawk. This guy is a legend - the original Black Alpha Male! He autographed my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Unity book, my DS9 group poster and a couple of photos. I chatted to him about his upcoming CD and title role in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of Tamburlaine and proceeded to go for my photoshoot with him.
When it was my turn for the photograph Avery remembered me and his face lit up "Victoria" he said waving me in. We started to pose for the photograph with his arm around me then abruptly stopped the photo session and told me off, saying in that deep cool mellow American accent
I'd just wished I'd had more time to chat to him as I had plenty of further questions to ask but I was a little worried I wouldn't get to meet him and so rushed through my questions. Later on the Sunday afternoon he was completely free but I didn't feel like spending more money to buy an autograph just to chat to him. Shame, but maybe next time as he seems to be making more appearances now on the Star Trek convention circuit.
So that was me - what about Daz? Well before Collectormania 11 he vowed to only get a few autographs but eventually he ended up meeting and getting autographs from Michael Winslow (Sgt. Larvell Jones from Police Academy), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from Star Wars), Grace Park (Sharon "Boomer" Valerii from Battlestar Galactica), Terry Jones (Monty Python) and Sophie Aldred (Ace from Doctor Who). You can read Daz's convention report here.
I also wanted to meet William Hope and Trevor Steadman (Lt. Gorman and Pvt. Wiezbowski from Aliens) but with Michael Biehn having to cancel I felt I'd spent enough money already. What made up for them though was the chance to meet the United Kingdom Colonial Marines who were parading around the convention with their captured Alien. They were definitely one of the highlights allowing you to pose with them, the Alien and their weaponry. Those M41A Pulserifles are damn heavy, however if you feel the need to build one then click here for a guide!
I was a little disappointed with the Doctor Who exhibits as they seemed to be spread across three different places but meeting K-9, the visual effects designer and K-9 builder Mat Irvine and Sophie Aldred made up for it. We couldn't for the life of us find Peter Davison even though he was definitely present.
Also appearing amongst others were Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), James Marsters (Buffy), Anthony Head (Buffy) Charisma Carpenter (Angel) and Zach Galligan (Gremlins).
Overall, we both had a great time, regardless of our travel plans going pear shaped on the way up, the ruined viewing of Spiderman 3 by a large group of chav scum kiddies talking, shouting, swearing and using their mobile phones throughout the entire performance and finally the general dreariness of Milton Keynes. If you're into the whole sci-fi fantasy geek stuff you should really make an effort to attend.
Next up - The London Film and Comic Con where Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and Louise Fletcher are already scheduled to appear.
Click here to view my entire collection of Collectormania photos
Don't get me wrong, it would be unfair to disparage Milton Keynes solely based off the small segment of the city we visited over the weekend, but the prefabricated construction and grid layout we experienced made me believe I was trapped inside Toytown on steroids. I mentioned to Darren that it reminded me of one gigantic skateboarding park - all the concrete, steel and glass panelled exteriors making everything appear cold and artificial. I understand the thinking that was behind the construction of Milton Keynes, the first of a new generation of new towns, but to quote a line from Prince Charles - the place is a "concrete carbuncle".
Unfortunately for Daz and I the convention was held at The Centre: Mk, one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and the longest covered centre in Europe. Basically if your idea of hell is being trapped in a shrine to corporate greed with alters dedicated to the Gods of Starbucks, McDonalds and Costa Coffee etc. then look no further. Believe me when I say that if Dawn of the Dead was happening in Milton Keynes I wouldn't be taking refuge in The Centre: MK as the zombies are the ones inside of this shopping mall.
I suppose we should be grateful that we even made it to the convention as fate seemed destined to prevent us from arriving. We left for the train station at 5.30am and made our pre-booked train at 6.10am only for it to stop and start three times before finally pulling out 40 minutes late. I had this gut feeling that the train wouldn't make it to Birmingham and was proven correct 5 minutes later as it slowly limped back to Derby station. Virgin trains provided us with a replacement service but we'd now missed our pre-booked connection at Birmingham New Street and in the time that they'd attempted to fix our original train we could have caught another train to Birmingham and made our connection.
Arriving at Birmingham we bought a couple of cups of expensive coffee just so we could sit down for a while and let off some steam before making our connecting train and arriving in Milton Keynes - or so we thought. As we supposedly approached Milton Keynes train station we were informed by the driver that there had been a fatality on the tracks and the train station we were arriving at wasn't Milton Keynes but Northampton! Daz and I just looked at each other with this slow look of dread forming over our faces.
As we stepped off the train we came to realise that there was no way in hell that we were leaving this station as hundreds upon hundreds of people were debarking from all the diverted trains and milling around trying to look for any possible escape. Luckily, it was pretty easy to spot our fellow convention geeks so we approached two people who were getting a taxi to Milton Keynes and made a deal to share their ride and split the cost four ways. Finally, we made the convention - 3 1/2 hours late.
We originally deciding to book a hotel room because Michael Biehn was scheduled to appear on the Sunday (until he cancelled) so unfortunately this meant we had to carry our bags until checking in time which was about 1pm. Daz and I hate shopping centres and having to carry 3 bags whilst fighting against the tide of buggies, motorised scooters and families of screaming kids was enough to make both of us lose our tempers.
Collectormania operate a virtual ticketing policy which is where they provide you with a numbered ticket for a scheduled time frame to which you can queue up for a particular guest. This allows you to plan your day around your guests therefore preventing you needlessly queuing for hours on end and probably missing some of other guests you may have wanted to meet. Luckily for Daz and I we didn't want to meet any of the Buffy and Angel guests which were almost out of virtual tickets by the time we'd arrived. Our guests had pretty much open queues in the afternoon meaning that no virtual ticketing was required - you could just walk right up and join the end of the queue anytime.
Being a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan I made a beeline for Rene Auberjonois who played the shapeshifting Founder Odo. He gladly signed my Worlds of Deep Space Nine: The Dominion and Ferenginar book, a photo and a group poster. Daz commented that he was real gentlemen taking time to shake his hand even though he himself wasn't there to meet him. Rene came across as very sweet and genuine taking time to answer all of my questions in his quiet calm voice.
Next I proceed to make my way to meet Aron Eisenberg who played the Ferengi Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. When he was 17, Aron received a kidney transplant having been born with only one kidney that wasn't working properly and stunted his growth at 5' (1.52 m). He came across as full of energy and enthusiasm. He might have only been the most recurring guest character in the television series but in the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, his character Nog, plays a much larger important role. When I handed him my Deep Space Nine novel, Mission Gamma: Cathedral to autograph he was so made up with the book. He said
"Hey look everyone - I'm on the cover and right at the front. Tell me - do I kick ass in this book?"I replied that he did. Bless him - I might have just made his day!
After checking into the hotel we walked back free of our bags which made a big difference to our enjoyment of the convention. Note to self for next time - try and do the whole convention in one day if possible and leave the overnight bags at home!
Made my way to see William Sanderson who played my favorite character in Blade Runner, that of J.F. Sebastian. William Sanderson is often found playing tragicomical roles and can most recently be seen in brilliant HBO series Deadwood. He happily obliged to sign my Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner book which is considered the bible for all Blade Runner fans and a photograph of him and Rutger Hauer. Now all I need is Rutger to attend a convention to get his autograph "I want more autographs fucker!" - That would be perfect!
And so to my main reason for coming to Collectormania 11- well joint main reason if Michael Biehn hadn't cancelled at the very last moment, that of meeting Avery Brooks better known as Captain Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and all round cool dude - Hawk. This guy is a legend - the original Black Alpha Male! He autographed my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Unity book, my DS9 group poster and a couple of photos. I chatted to him about his upcoming CD and title role in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of Tamburlaine and proceeded to go for my photoshoot with him.
When it was my turn for the photograph Avery remembered me and his face lit up "Victoria" he said waving me in. We started to pose for the photograph with his arm around me then abruptly stopped the photo session and told me off, saying in that deep cool mellow American accent
"Victoria - you're a tall beautiful woman now stand up straight!"Apparently I'd started to stoop a little to lower myself down to his height. Hell, when the Emissary commands you to do something you do it!
I'd just wished I'd had more time to chat to him as I had plenty of further questions to ask but I was a little worried I wouldn't get to meet him and so rushed through my questions. Later on the Sunday afternoon he was completely free but I didn't feel like spending more money to buy an autograph just to chat to him. Shame, but maybe next time as he seems to be making more appearances now on the Star Trek convention circuit.
So that was me - what about Daz? Well before Collectormania 11 he vowed to only get a few autographs but eventually he ended up meeting and getting autographs from Michael Winslow (Sgt. Larvell Jones from Police Academy), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from Star Wars), Grace Park (Sharon "Boomer" Valerii from Battlestar Galactica), Terry Jones (Monty Python) and Sophie Aldred (Ace from Doctor Who). You can read Daz's convention report here.
I also wanted to meet William Hope and Trevor Steadman (Lt. Gorman and Pvt. Wiezbowski from Aliens) but with Michael Biehn having to cancel I felt I'd spent enough money already. What made up for them though was the chance to meet the United Kingdom Colonial Marines who were parading around the convention with their captured Alien. They were definitely one of the highlights allowing you to pose with them, the Alien and their weaponry. Those M41A Pulserifles are damn heavy, however if you feel the need to build one then click here for a guide!
I was a little disappointed with the Doctor Who exhibits as they seemed to be spread across three different places but meeting K-9, the visual effects designer and K-9 builder Mat Irvine and Sophie Aldred made up for it. We couldn't for the life of us find Peter Davison even though he was definitely present.
Also appearing amongst others were Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), James Marsters (Buffy), Anthony Head (Buffy) Charisma Carpenter (Angel) and Zach Galligan (Gremlins).
Overall, we both had a great time, regardless of our travel plans going pear shaped on the way up, the ruined viewing of Spiderman 3 by a large group of chav scum kiddies talking, shouting, swearing and using their mobile phones throughout the entire performance and finally the general dreariness of Milton Keynes. If you're into the whole sci-fi fantasy geek stuff you should really make an effort to attend.
Next up - The London Film and Comic Con where Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and Louise Fletcher are already scheduled to appear.
Click here to view my entire collection of Collectormania photos
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• Milton Keynes • Michael Biehn • Star Trek • Deep Space Nine • DS9 • Avery Brooks • Sisko • Odo • Doctor Who • Sophie Aldred • William Sanderson • Blade Runner • Rutger Hauer • James Marsters • Charisma Carpenter • Anthony Head • Brandon Routh • Aliens • Colonial Marines • Grace Park • Terry Jones • Peter Mayhew • Michael Winslow • FoxyTallChick
• Milton Keynes • Michael Biehn • Star Trek • Deep Space Nine • DS9 • Avery Brooks • Sisko • Odo • Doctor Who • Sophie Aldred • William Sanderson • Blade Runner • Rutger Hauer • James Marsters • Charisma Carpenter • Anthony Head • Brandon Routh • Aliens • Colonial Marines • Grace Park • Terry Jones • Peter Mayhew • Michael Winslow • FoxyTallChick 
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Cheers for my signed K9 picci ;-) X!
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