I love going to Sci-Fi and Fantasy memorabilia fairs. With a fistful of cash and a shopping list of needed trading cards, desired DVDs, craved after comics, obsessed about paraphernalia and the occasional wanted autograph just watch me go.
Some of my favourite moments have included meeting Carrie Fisher and Karen Allen; Harrison Ford's leading ladies for Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Catching up with Deep Space Nine's Chase Masterson, who I'd met a few years before and who threw herself across the table to hug me when she saw me. And I always enjoy being harassed by Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, I just LOVE Stormtroopers.
There's always the chance for me to expand my collection of novelty Monopoly sets; I have a Lord of The Rings set, an Indiana Jones set, a Pirates of The Caribbean and a Las Vegas set amongst others. At each event I like to get another of the replica Harry Potter wands; to date I have Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's and Sirius wands. And then there's the impulse purchases that once you get them home you can't remember why you wanted it in the first place; what exactly am I ever going to do with those Xena and Babylon 5 collectible card games... I have no idea how you play it!
So when we found out that it was Expo 16 at the weekend, with the promise of all things film, television and game goodness, Dean, Katie and I decided to head over to Docklands and have a look. We knew that there was going to be some Anime there but panels with True Blood, Merlin and Star Trek gave us some hope that it would be a 50/50 split. Er, no. It was probably closer to 60=Anime, 30=Gaming and 10=Sci-Fi.
The smattering of sci-fi/fantasy/television/film memorabilia wasn't really worth the entry price I'd paid. But determined to get something out of the day I got autograph tickets for Terry Farrell and Nicole DeBoer, the two actresses who played the character of Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Terry was the reason Katie had got out of bed that morning, and I have adored Nicole since I met her back in 1999 (at the same event where I met Chase).
After their little Q&A session on stage they got down to the signing. Well Nicole was ready, Terry was still trying to get back from the stage, but that gave me a few more minutes with Nicole. As I walked towards her she offered me a smile:
ME: Does that smile mean you vaguely remember me?
NICOLE: I signed your stomach once, of course I remember you. In fact about 20 minutes ago I was asked what was the strangest thing I'd ever signed and I remembered that.
We chatted for a little bit longer, which unearthed the memory of singing karaoke together ('Spice Up Your Life'), and then Terry arrived at the table and it was time to move on.
This was Katie's moment, so other than saying 'Hi' I let Katie do the talking and after getting her personalised autograph they had a giggle moment together.
KATIE: Thank you.
TERRY: You're welcome.
KATIE: Thank you so much.
TERRY: You're welcome so much.
Those few moments made the early morning, the entry fee and the endless queues worth it.
However, I still had to go to the nearest HMV and buy 'Prison Break: The Complete Series' just so I had something to play with when I got home.
(Oh... and what's with the 'Free Hugz' placards that all the Anime kids were wearing?)
...
- Mood:giggly
- Music:'Land of 1000 Dances' - Wilson Pickett
But it was something so fundamentally human within the series that had me addicted: Will Riker and Deanna Troi. The 'on again/off again', 'will they/won't they' tease that had me glued to my television screen and then the big screen. Fourteen years I waited for those two to finally get over themselves and up the aisle. Fourteen years! Now that was sexual tension at it's best.
After the season six episode 'Second Chances' aired I had to take drastic action. Billed as a love triangle/tug of love between Will Riker and the transporter accident created Tom Riker fighting over Deanna Troi I was really looking forward to watching. But the resolution left me unfulfilled. It wasn't so much a tug of love as Will standing back and letting Tom sweep Deanna off her feet; it made it look as though Will was completely over the whole thing and Deanna was desperately clinging to it. My drastic action? Fan fiction.
It's worth pointing out that at this point that I didn't know that such a thing existed. In my youth and innocence I had never heard the term 'slash' unless one was referring to the lead guitarist of Guns 'n' Roses and the very idea that Kirk could be slashed with Spock was as alien to me as a guy with pointy ears. So I was convinced that I was the only person in the world that put pen to paper and wrote the Star Trek stories that I wanted to read. In my universe Will was desperate to win back the heart of his beloved Deanna, Jean-Luc had once slept with Beverly and was unaware that her, previously unmentioned, second child Ophelia was actually his. Said child was due to join the Enterprise crew in the unaired eighth season as a seventeen year old ensign; smarter than Geordi, braver than Worf, more charming than Will, and more telepathic than Deanna, she was ready to turn Beverly's life upside down. (I should have just called her Mary Sue and got it over with.) But she would at least push Will in Deanna's direction and convince Deanna that she should give Will another chance.
Then I heard about Pages Bar in Westminster. A regular bar for city workers during the week but on Saturday night the Trekkers took over. A giant replica of the Enterprise D was crashing through the ceiling, posters and pictures adorned the walls, trinkets and collectibles displayed throughout and a cocktail list that included Romulan Ale and Bajoran Aura. I was only 16 but I begged my sister to take me; the very week that my braces were removed we went to the Christmas party. Everyone there was as weird as I was, the guy in the dress uniform with a string of fairy lights wrapped around him was even weirder. His name was Manny Patel Jnr, he made Star Trek music videos, and he inspired me to one day make my own.
For the next nine years Pages Bar was like a second home.
...
Some of my favourite Star Trek music videos from back in the day:
Bohemian Rhapsody: www.youtube.com/watch
I Will Survive: www.youtube.com/watch
Robin Hood: www.youtube.com/watch
...
- Mood:nostalgic
- Music:'Ray of Light' - Madonna
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