Ed Wasser (Morden, Babylon 5)... our favourite bad guy
Jim Mortimore (Author of the B5 novel, Clark's Law)
Saturday, 17 February 1996
The Novotel, Hammersmith, London, U.K.
The Babylon 5 UK Fan Club in association with Wolf 359.
The following report on this excellent meeting is adapted from The 5 Times with permission.
The Landing Party was the fourth Sigma 957 event to be organised by Babylon 5 UK Fan Club, this time in association with Wolf 359, and took place almost exactly one year on from the first Sigma 957 convention (which was actually the first Babylon 5 convention in the UK and the first fan-run event in the world solely dedicated to B5).
The convention was well attended and, because so many people knew each other from previous Sigma events, there was an instantly relaxed and friendly atmosphere to welcome the many newcomers into the circle.
The day was a mixture of laughter and serious thought. We got off to a fine start with the Season 1 blooper tapes (gag reels) which are so funny that, while you're laughing at one out-take or gag, you miss the next! The gag reels for Season 2 and 3 were screened at intervals throughout the day.
Early in the day there was a special video appearance by Richard Biggs with a personal goodwill message for The Landing Party and all the UK fans of B5.
We also previewed the first quarter of Season 3 with the first seven episodes up to EXOGENESIS, witnessing the return of Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) and Bester (Walter Koenig), further revelations concerning Kosh, Morden and the Shadows... The slow build toward the full-on Shadow War.
The highlights of the day were, of course, the guests. Jim Mortimore signed advanced copies of the fourth tie-in novel, CLARK'S LAW, and took time to mix and chat with fans.
Ed Wasser was also relaxed, taking time to sit down and talk to the fans, sign items and generally be charming and enthusiastic throughout.
Ed gave an inspired talk, taking the stage for about an hour and a half. He began with several readings from The Misanthrope by Moliere, a play for which he is rehearsing at the moment for an LA stage production. He went on to give a well thought through talk which was, by turns, hilarious, serious, touching, surreal and instructional.
He told us some amusing anecdotes about his pets: his dog, Shiloh, and an emotionally challenged parrot that had "too much drama in its life". His mimicry of the foul-mouthed (or bad-beaked), psychotic bird showcased Ed's talent for comedy and had the audience in stitches. He then told us a cautionary tale about a charming con man who had sucked in Ed and a few of his friends into a money-losing scam of some sort.
He punctuated his long talk with relaxed question and answer sessions with the audience. Finally, he concluded on a serious and thought provoking note, reading genuine letters from a friend who went through some bad karma and is serving time in jail as a result of getting into some bad scene involving drugs. This final part of the talk was very touching and Ed's frankness and honesty with the audience was surprising, effective and moving.
Everyone came away affected by Ed Wasser's talk, which was well timed to be both enlightening and uplifting, with a fine balance of humour and seriousness. His main message could be summed up as "not to forget the heart" and with his phrase "You are a teacher and student to everyone you meet".
The Landing Party wound up at around 7pm, but many of those present still hadn't had enough and took the party atmosphere, along with Ed and the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club, with them on to a coffee bar in the West End where the convention continued until nearly midnight...
Ed Wasser has an on-line newsletter which keeps up to date on all of Ed's appearances etc. and has input from Ed himself. You can subscribe to this free service by e-mailing subscribe@wasser.com
SFX magazine ran a special news item on The Encounter, saying that it was "the event for all UK Babylon 5 fans in 1996. Scratch that... It's the event for B5 fans worldwide, especially when you consider the fact that Boxleitner has said he'll definitely not be appearing at any other cons anywhere this year."
J. Michael Straczynski (The Creator of Babylon 5)
Bruce Boxleitner (Captain Sheridan, Babylon 5)
Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar, Babylon 5)
Bill Mumy (Lennier, Babylon 5... and "Space Cases")
Stephen Furst (Vir, Babylon 5)
Peter David (SF writer; author of several Babylon 5 scripts... and "Space
Cases")
Optic Nerve (Emmy award-winning Babylon 5 make-up artists, Greg Funk & Fionagh Cush)
Jim Mortimore and David Bassom (Babylon 5 authors)
And some great non-Babylonian guests as well, including:
Rene Auberjonois (Odo, DS9)
Kristian Ayre (Radu from "Space Cases"; attending his first convention)
Jackie Edwards (Assistant to Patrick Stewart on "Generations II" the new ST
film)
George Marshall (Comedian specialising in SF character impressions)
7-10 June 1996
The Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, U.K.
Wolf 359 in association with the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club.
Any profits from Wolf 359 events go to children's charities.
This convention is already gaining legendary status and spawned many personal diaries on the Web... The following report has been adapted from The 5 Times and is reproduced with permission.
After the success of last year’s Gathering convention, Wolf 359 (again in association with the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club) had a lot of expectations to live up to with The Encounter!
What was to become the biggest ever fan-run convention, featuring such a notable B5 presence, took place on the weekend of 7 - 10 June 1996 at the Norbreck Castle Hotel on Blackpool’s seafront.
SFX magazine turned out to be right on the mark when they had predicted it would be, "the event for B5 fans worldwide". The B5 guest line-up was truly impressive and, as they filed on stage during the opening ceremony, they were met with appropriate adulation from the eager crowd, filling the aircraft-hangar-sized main hall with deafening cheers and applause.
First on stage was Joanne Higgins (personal assistant to JMS at Babylonian Productions over in LA). She welcomed Bruce Boxleitner, Bill Mumy, Stephen Furst and then the Great Maker himself... J. Michael Straczynski was received with an immediate standing ovation - the applause only dying down minutes later. It would be very difficult to imagine any other TV Producer engendering such a response - reflecting the calibre of fans attracted to B5: people who appreciate the talents both sides of the camera.
Finally, Joanne was able to announce one more major B5 guest... To everyone’s obvious surprise and delight, Andreas Katsulas was welcomed to The Encounter - who, along with Bruce Boxleitner, was making his first UK convention appearance!
Other B5 guests in attendance were Greg Funk and Fionagh Cush of Optic Nerve, Peter David, Jim Mortimore, David Bassom, and of course, the Editorial Crew of The 5 Times.
From Star Trek: Deep Space 9, there was very special guest, Rene Auberjonois.
Other guests included Jackie Edwards (assistant to Patrick Stewart), Joe Nazzaro and Sheilagh Wells (talking about forthcoming TV series Neverwhere and The Mentors), George Marshall (SF comedian) and also another special surprise guest: Kristian Ayre one of the stars from the new Bill Mumy/Peter David created series Space Cases! Another UK convention debut!
Over the weekend, more than 2,000 fans from the UK and around the world (USA, Canada, Singapore, and nearly every European Country) enjoyed a full schedule of events and joined the ready-made community of like-minded individuals. There was the usual supporting programme of discos, parties, fancy dress, auctions, video screenings and a vast dealer hall offering a massive variety and every piece of licensed B5 product!
Highlights of the weekend, apart from the excellent guest talks and panels, included the Optic Nerve demonstration where Bill Mumy was transformed into Lennier, in front of a fascinated audience. Fionagh and Greg also turned one lucky attendee into a Minbari - Roger Gerrish was the lucky winner of this prize. During their demonstrations, Optic Nerve talked and took questions from the audience. We learned a little of their background apart from their work on B5: for example, they had worked with the great Italian horror-thriller film-maker Dario Argento on his version of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat. We found out that Fionagh had started out working for low-budget Hollywood legend Roger Cormen.
Sigma957 (Part 5)
was organised by the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club within the overall structure, as at The Gathering. This year, Andreas Katsulas attended to join in the "chat show" format for over an hour.There was also a Babblings meeting-within-a-meeting.
The following report has been adapted from The 5 Times and is reproduced with permission.
The Babylon 5 UK Fan Club also held a meeting for its members, a sort of mini Sigma957, where Andreas Katsulas talked for over an hour in a more intimate and relaxed situation.
The B5 UK FC would like to thank Andreas for attending the meeting and being so charming, gracious and witty throughout. Also a thank you to all our members who came along, it’s always great to see faces, new and familiar! I’m sure all who were there would agree that Andreas Katsulas ensured that it was a much appreciated bonus within the greater structure of The Encounter!
During the question and answer session, Andreas recounted many interesting and witty stories, both from his experiences on the sets of Babylon 5 and from his long and distinguished career so far. He told the story of how he started out in acting. His first role, when he was a child, was in a bear suit. Yes... sort of a big teddy bear!! He really got into ‘being’ a bear and enjoyed the experience and the reactions of others so much that he pursued acting as a career from then on. He also told us about working with Christopher Walken, whilst filming Communion. Apparently, Christopher Walken is as strange in real life as his characters often are on screen! Andreas recounted one anecdote where he was in a car with Christopher and a few other members of the movie’s cast and crew being driven to a location. It was a fairly long drive, through beautiful countryside, and when the conversation began to trail off, Christopher filled the silence with a full version of Brecht’s song "Mac The Knife" - sung entirely in Yiddish...
Throughout The Encounter, Des, Donna and Laurence were present and when the busy schedule permitted, the B5 UK FC club room was open and providing a haven for members to chat, pick up the latest issue of The 5 Times, and meet new friends. The Babylon 5 UK Fan Club also put on a mini-exhibition of fan art in its club room, where we were able to talk with many readers of The 5 Times in a (sometimes) relaxed atmosphere.
For details of future Wolf 359 events send an SAE to:
Wolf 359
141 Waarden Road
Canvey Island
Essex SS8 9BE
UK
And keep an eye on the Wolf 359 Web page
This was a commercial convention from the company which produced Babcom '95 and The Summer Sci-Fi Experience.
Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi, B5)
Andrea Thompson (Talia Winters, B5)
Claudia Christian (Ivanova, B5)
Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari, B5)
Richard Biggs (Dr Franklin, B5)
Jason Carter (Marcus Cole, B5)
Mira Furlan (Delenn, B5)
Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar, B5)
22-23 June 1996
Shepherds Bush Empire, London, U.K.
Caitlin Brown (Na'toth)
Michael O'Hare (Sinclair)
28 September 1996
Connaught Rooms, Great Queen Street, London, UK
Wolf 359
in association with the London Star Trek GroupThis convention sold out all 350 places in advance, as is becoming the custom with any B5-related event
Caitlin Brown (Na'toth)
Michael O'Hare (Sinclair)
29 September 1996, 10 am to 10 pm
Central Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Wolf 359
in association with the Scotforce Fan Group
Jason Carter (Marcus Cole, B5)
Andrew Robinson (Garak, DS9)
11-14 October 1996
Britannia Hotel, Daventry, Northampton, UK
The highlight of this fan run convention was "The Double Main Event" on the Sunday evening, when the two main guests did a combined panel. This was a rare opportunity to see a Babylon 5 guest on stage simultaneously with a Trek guest... and it was outstanding. Jason was in party mode for almost the whole weekend... and his enthusiasm was so contagious that some of the fans appeared to be having rather more fun than they had intended...
Andrew Robinson was also an excellent convention guest. Apart from his role on DS9, he is known for playing parts including the flamboyant pianist Liberace and the Scorpio Killer in the film Dirty Harry... obviously a versatile actor!
This weekend meeting included Sigma957 (Part 6), organised by the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club within the overall structure.
Jason Carter attended to join in the, by now familiar, "chat show" format for just over half an hour. For the benefit of members, Jason subjected himself to questioning from the Club "Technocore" and the enthusiastic audience. In this more intimate setting he was able to chat candidly about his approach to acting, his classic theatrical training, his attitudes to Hollywood, women, and parties! In a memorable turn of phrase he referred to Babylon 5 as being like "Newcastle in Space"... Jason impressed the fans as an extremely genuine and open individual, with a great sense of fun.
Assimilation Conventions
7 Holyrood Ave
South Harrow
Middx
HA2 8UD
UK
Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander)
David Bassom (Author)
10 November 1996, 1102-1700 hours
Connaught Rooms, Great Queen Street, London, UK
Wolf 359 in association with the Babylon 5 UK Fan Club and Psi Corp.
This was Patricia Tallman's first ever UK convention appearance. This was also the first time she had been the main guest at a convention (although she had been to multi-guest panels at big conventions in the States) and seemed, at first, rather surprised that so many UK fans had turned up just to see her. The audience soon made her welcome, and she repaid them with one of the funniest guest presentations we've seen. There was a stream of excellent anecdotes and observations taken from her experiences on Babylon 5, as well as her wildly varied experiences as a top stuntwoman. Her style of presentation was full of energy and enthusiasm, without a trace of "Hollywood ego".
One typical anecdote concerned acting as Geena Davis' stuntwoman for a fall sequence in an upcoming movie: this involved Pat being dropped from a huge crane into a quarry... at night. The idea was to film her falling towards the camera before the harness and "bungee cord" broke her fall. She gave an impression of the director's careful instructions that he wanted her to "look scared". She reassured him that "this wouldn't be a problem"! Pat tells such stories with built-in character impressions and laughter that carry the audience along on the wave...
On the basis of this performance, Patricia Tallman is a highly recommended convention guest.
David Bassom (author of the reference books "Creating Babylon 5" and "The A to Z of Babylon 5") also attended, to chat with the fans in the "party area" outside the main hall.
The day included some excellent videos(!), discussions, an autograph session, as well as a free-form rolling presentation covering the history of the "real" Babylon, references in Babylon 5 to classic SF films, news about the rumoured Babylon 5 movies and sequel, and audience participation to "road test" the new Babylon 5 trivia cards.
Ed Wasser (Morden - B5)
Max Grodenchik (Rom - DS9)
Peter Wingfield (Methos - Highlander)
Lolita Fatjo & Eric Stillwell (Star Trek Office and Workshop)
Diane Duane & Peter Morwood (Star Trek Novelists)
22-24 November 1996
Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, UK
London Trek Group
Telefantastique was a non-profit event, with all proceeds being donated to Muscular Dystrophy and Care. It was organised by the London Trek Group, in conjunction with Le Film Festival. Equipment kindly supplied by Barco UK.
For details of future events visit the London Trek Group's Web Page
Last update: 6 September 1997