Went to DragonCon over the weekend (in Atlanta)

[Gazrok]

We've missed it for the past few years, but finally renewing our annual trip to DragonCon.

Got to meet a lot of cool people.

For example, Jane Badler, Marc Singer, and Robert Englund from V (of course, many also know him as Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare on Elmstreet movies)....

Karl Urban (also from the new Star Trek movies as Bones, and Red), and Jack Quaid from The Boys.

Almost the whole cast of iZombie...

 

[Gazrok]

From Goonies...

Beth, from Better Off Dead...

Barb from Stranger Things...

Bortus from the Orville...

Harvey from Gotham...(and also from Grounded for Life)

Laney from the Goldbergs (and Schooled)

Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows

Henry from Once Upon A Time (also got to see Lana Parila, i.e. the evil Queen again, but we had already gotten a pic with her at a previous con. Love her to death, and saw Rebecca Mader again (she played the Witch of the West, and is pregnant right now...and has the most fabulous accent...).

Gal from the Magicians. More for my wife....

We also saw Shatner and Takei (Star Trek) again, having met them before, as well as Erin Gray and Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers) as they are always there. David Tennant was there but we couldn't time that one right. Same with the guy who was Shazam in the new movie. And of course, some faves from Warehouse 13, who are always there.

Was a really fun 5 days of Con. And man, I feel like I could sleep a week (the whole thing is spread over 5 hotels, and I am just beat...and not as young as I used to be...)

 

[Mountain trapper]

Don't know any of these people but it looked like you had a good time.

 

[DrHenley]

You ever run into Kate Mulgrew (Janeway)? I'd like her autograph. I just finished rewatching Voyager.

 

[Gazrok]

I haven't seen her yet at one. I did see Garret Wang again this weekend though (Ensign Kim on Voyager).

Surprised you're not into SciFi Arcticdude.....

 

[Psalm7]

Gaz , you keep up with the entertainment world . Whats going on with SyFy channel ? How many times can their fans watch Need for Speed , Harry Potter ? What happened to Ice Spiders , Piranhaconda , Manskeeter , and all the SyFy classics . I guess thay had to go politically correct or something ?

 

[Kevin L]

You ever run into Kate Mulgrew (Janeway)? I'd like her autograph. I just finished rewatching Voyager.

She was in South Florida a few years back because she's acting on stage in a few different plays.

 

[Kevin L]

From Goonies...

Beth, from Better Off Dead...

Barb from Stranger Things...

Bortus from the Orville...

Harvey from Gotham...(and also from Grounded for Life)

Laney from the Goldbergs (and Schooled)

Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows

Henry from Once Upon A Time (also got to see Lana Parila, i.e. the evil Queen again, but we had already gotten a pic with her at a previous con. Love her to death, and saw Rebecca Mader again (she played the Witch of the West, and is pregnant right now...and has the most fabulous accent...).

Gal from the Magicians. More for my wife....

We also saw Shatner and Takei (Star Trek) again, having met them before, as well as Erin Gray and Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers) as they are always there. David Tennant was there but we couldn't time that one right. Same with the guy who was Shazam in the new movie. And of course, some faves from Warehouse 13, who are always there.

Was a really fun 5 days of Con. And man, I feel like I could sleep a week (the whole thing is spread over 5 hotels, and I am just beat...and not as young as I used to be...)

I see you're a big science fiction fan.

I am, too. I have also written it professionally for Analog, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and a few others.

It's a literary form where I can feel completely unbound.

 

[DrHenley]

Gaz , you keep up with the entertainment world . Whats going on with SyFy channel ?

When they changed the name from SciFi to SyFy they wanted to move away from Science Fiction and get into more fantasy and other genres because they thought there wasn't a big enough audience for Sci Fi.
SyFy President David Howe:
"The SciFi name is limiting. If you ask people their default perceptions of Sci Fi, they list space, aliens, and the future. That didn't capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural, action and adventure, superhero's."

And for examples of the type of shows they wanted that didn't fit neatly under "Sci Fi", he said "Destination Truth" and "Ghost Hunters."

In other words "we aren't really into Sci Fi anymore, we want to be the "Reality TV" channel but keep a name that sounds like "Sci Fi" so Sci Fi fans will think we are still a Sci Fi channel."

 

[Kevin L]

When they changed the name from SciFi to SyFy they wanted to move away from Science Fiction and get into more fantasy and other genres because they thought there wasn't a big enough audience for Sci Fi.
SyFy President David Howe:
"The SciFi name is limiting. If you ask people their default perceptions of Sci Fi, they list space, aliens, and the future. That didn't capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural, action and adventure, superhero's."

And for examples of the type of shows they wanted that didn't fit neatly under "Sci Fi", he said "Destination Truth" and "Ghost Hunters."

In other words "we aren't really into Sci Fi anymore, we want to be the "Reality TV" channel but keep a name that sounds like "Sci Fi" so Sci Fi fans will think we are still a Sci Fi channel."

I challenge (ie: cry "bologna") on the idea that Sci Fi is limiting.

I do believe that there is a difference between sci fi and fantasy, but a truly creative author can craft a "real sci fi" story that's indistinguishable from fantasy . . . and vice-versa.

An example is Star Wars.

Star Wars is often passed off as science fiction, but--if you examine the story line and plot developements closely--it's actually closer to fantasy than science fiction.

The same is true of the move The Fantastic Voyage (starring Donald Plesence and Raquel Welch . . . which makes the movie worth seeing with her in a skin-tight diving suit). It's passed off as science fiction, but it's really fantasy.

 

[DrHenley]

I agree. The SciFi channel was the only reason I had cable. After the change I gradually stopped watching it and finally cut the cable when there weren't anymore Sci Fi shows I was interested in on SyFy.

I think what really happened was they figured Reality TV was a lot cheaper to produce.