The London Film and Comic Convention 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 4:26PM
Clutching takeaway coffees and squinting in the early morning glare caused by the rare appearance of the London sun, the intrepid team from the Liberation Frequency arrived at Earl’s Court for the start of the 2011 London Film and Comic Convention. Armed with nothing but the caffeine in our veins and terminal cases of extreme geekism, we strode forth to capture the highs and lows, the laughter and the tears of the day.
Sure enough when we arrived there was already a considerable line of dedicated souls lining up outside the Earl’s Court Convention Centre, waiting to get inside. It was clear already that a lot of people were going to be in costume. In the first five minutes I’d seen stormtroopers, Dr Who, assorted Hogwarts students and a guy dressed as a crewman from Star Trek: Enterprise. Awesome. We were already inside the venue when the doors opened at 9am (press passes YUSSSSS!) and I knew immediately because small groups of people began running, nay pelting, from the front entrance to the signing area at the rear of the building. Before you could say ‘geeks on a mission’ a churning mob of people were crowding around the signing tables, jostling anxiously for position.
It was obvious that no effort had been spared when organising this convention, the array of stalls and merchandise available was mind-boggling (and bank account-emptying). As always, people arrived wearing looks of determination. People at conventions are on a mission. There’s no time for fooling around. Organisation was in top form too with plenty of helpful staff on hand to provide assistance to confused (or in my case, pushy) press types or convention-goers.
My first Major Geek Out moment of the day was when we were wandering around the venue before the doors actually opened and who should we see stretching his legs and talking to stall owners but none other than Mr Brent Spiner himself. That’s right. Brent Spiner. Mr Data. My little Star Trek-loving heart went into double time. Of course, there was only one reasonable course of action - stalking. After a couple of strategic dashes between rows of stalls we managed to plant ourselves conveniently in his path. Our cunning plan paid off when he came our way and I was able to approach ever-so-casually for a quick hello. He probably saw us coming from a mile away. I imagine we were about at subtle as a clown fight. Brent was extremely gracious and friendly. I even shook his hand. We had a chat about his new web series Fresh Hell (Very funny. Check it out on You Tube). As he continued on his way a massive grin spread across my face and it’s still firmly in place. Nothing short of a natural disaster could possibly ruin the day now.
Major Geek Out moment number two was interviewing Walter Koenig (yeah, that’s right THE Walter Koenig, as in Chekov from Star Trek). Despite the crowd of increasingly irate fans waiting for autographs, Liberation Frequency was able to grab a few moments of the sci-fi legend’s time to ask him about Star Trek, Babylon 5 and his upcoming new graphic novel, Things to Come.
Every convention is filled with assorted bits and pieces just screaming to be bought and this one was no exception. Was I dangerously tempted by the A1 ‘Women of Star Trek’ poster, with autographs from all of them? Yes, yes I was. Unfortunately, at over £900 it was just a teensy bit outside my budget. To console myself I purchased a lovely, movie-era figurine of Deanna Troi. You heard me. Troi. She was my favourite character when I was little. I get very nostalgic about it and I am now the proud owner of a Troi figurine. I also got a Star Trek: Enterprise mug so I can alienate my workmates even further than my blatant love of comics, sci-fi and all things geeky already has.
So, the sun is setting and the Liberation Frequency crew are broke and beginning to droop from eight solid hours of geeking out. Will we be coming back tomorrow? You’re damn right we will! If you haven’t been able to make it down today or if you weren’t sure whether to come at all – just do it. We’ve had a great day.
Reader Comments (3)
"Armed with nothing but the caffeine in our veins"
Hmm. I think in my case you need to substitute coffee for tequilla. I'm amazed I made it through the day.
I have to say I did have my doubts when you first arrived. I thought, 'Oh Gods, the camera man is bloody drunk. We're screwed.' But you pulled yourself together quite rapidly.
There were lots of people, it was really such a bang. Great thing you got it.
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