Just got back from a very, very crowded Saturday. The FX Sci-Fi Convention is still going on this weekend at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando. Quick review: crowded as hell, tons of stuff to buy, Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk are there signing autographs, some other stars are there too, and that’s about it. For a somewhat lengthier description (and pics), read on.
My sons and I arrived almost an hour early (we weren’t sure how the autograph lines would work). Lots of people were lining up quickly outside the doors and I was happy to see how many people were wearing Firefly shirts. We saw one woman in a River outfit that was perfect from the back and darn close from the front, and there was a family there with a Simonized boy in a vest and a girl in a jumpsuit that could have been Zoe or Kaylee (I didn’t ask). There was also a blonde guy in a Hawaiian shirt and orange jumpsuit walking around that made a fair Wash.
Inside was chaos. There was some vague organization but there were just too many people crammed into too small a room. And it wasn’t a small room. We did a quick run through the dealer’s area here, or at least as fast as we could go considering just getting a few steps in a row was an accomplishment.
The South building had guest areas on either end — putting the horror guests on one end and the other TV and movie stars on the other was an excellent idea, I thought — and we headed directly to the Serenity corner where autographs were due to begin at 11. The stars from Happy Days, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), David Carradine, and a few others showed up early, which just made it funnier when the lines for Alan and Summer stretched farther and farther out. Finally the con people handed out tickets to people in line so we could be called when it was time and thus not have to wait in line forever.
And then we waited anyway. For one thing I ran into FireflyFal, laden with her Browncoat ribbon pins and lanyards, doing a brisk business. We hung around and talked for a bit. Summer and Alan showed up on time (to applause) and soon we were back in line. Autographs were $25 each and you received your choice of several photos to have signed (you could get your own stuff signed, of course; it was still $25 per). Alan had one Wash pic, two “Dodgeball” pics, a “Sonny” pic from “I, Robot,” and a Firefly cast pic.
Alan was wearing a Serenity T-shirt and looked like, well, Wash. I told him my wife didn’t want to come because she would have thrown herself on him and screamed “Wash!” We’d had some words for Mr. Whedon after the movie. Alan chuckled and said he did, too. “But yours was ‘ow,'” I said, and he laughed and posed with me.
Summer was wearing a light dress and was there with (I believe) her sister. The pics offered at her table were one promo pic of River from “Firefly,” two from “Serenity,” and a glamour portait head shot. She’s not nearly as crazy looking in person (or else she hides it better than River) and is, in fact, lovely (see pic above). She signed my picture and signed my wife’s as River — my request, as Teres identifies strongly with River. Summer laughed and looked mock-alarmed, then said, “Well, that could be good…”
While I was talking to her Alan loudly responded to something someone else asked with “But it’s really her fault.” Summer looked at him, puzzled, and he continued, “Somebody sees the future, did she tell me to duck? No!”
“I wanted your seat!” Summer said, laughing.
“You wanted my job!” Alan said. Now everyone within earshot was laughing. He turned back to sign, shaking his head. “I can’t talk to her.”
When I got out of the lines I met up with FireflyGal who was talking to the River-lookalike, and I got pictures. My Blue Sun shirt got happy nods from passing fans, and my son’s Jayne hat got a lot of attention. Only afterwards did it occur to me to question the wisdom of walking up to River wearing a Blue Sun shirt.
We spent the next couple of hours working our way through the con. Think of a flea market opening up inside a NYC subway and you’ve got the general idea. We saw a powerful amount of stuff, mostly Star Wars, Magic cards, and comics, but no matter what your geeky interest is there was something there for you. Except Serenity cards, apparently. I went hunting but found no love. Lori Anne Brown, a friend who’s been selling science fiction and fantasy-related merchandise at local cons for over a decade, had some basic sets (and action figures, Joss-signed comics, and a UK poster signed by the cast she’s giving away from her website) but no boxes. I was distraught. There was a lot of commerce going on so I suspect others were luckier than I was.
I also ran into ShinyHappyKlin and her husband (of Out to the Black Outfitters) who were ready with T-shirts, jewelry, and more for dazed Browncoats walking away from the lines. She’s seen here in her Prudence guise, holding a signed print from Jason Palmer who had stacks and displays of his incredible work on display in the autograph area.
I talked to him for a bit while he was rolling up my purchase (right, like you could have resisted). He told me about the lack of reference photos Universal sent for his licensed portraits but praised online Firefly fans who helped him out with pics whenever he needed them. Jason also did the art for the cover of the FX 2006 Show program. Very nice guy, very personable, and he clearly loves the characters.
Other guests included some of the stars of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (and there were more than a few Potter fans there), Cindy Williams from “Laverne and Shirley” (I assume, I never actually saw her), Priscilla Barnes and Joyce DeWitt from “Three’s Company,” “Jody and “Cissy” from “Family Affair,” author Timothy Zahn, Corin Nemic from Stargate SG-1, and a pile of hot ladies from Playboy, Penthouse, and assorted softcore and hardcore magazines/calendars/movies.
It is worth noting that, attractive as those ladies were (or were trying to be), Summer blew them all away. I think the lack of silicone and handfuls of makeup helped. Just sayin’.
I’m not a horror fan so I can’t tell you much about the horror guests there, but friends who were fans were happy. People were lined up for George A. Romero (“Dawn of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead,” Weekend of the Dead,” whatever), Robert Englund (“Freddy” from the “Nightmare” films), Tony McGraw (“Michael Myers” from “Halloween”), Richard Brooker (“Jason” from “Friday the 13th”), and assorted other horror movie actors.
The comic book guest of honor was Jerry Robinson, known for his excellent Golden Age Batman work. He was in the North building along with two more rows of comics creators and, of course, about a million more dealers and five million more fans. In the Media building was an anime screening with gaming going on in the back.
There were a couple of concession stands selling hot dogs, burgers, Polish sausage, and fries at fairground prices. It was a gorgeous day; we sat out in the shade and tried to ignore the shooting back and leg pains.
Panels were mentioned at the FX website but there was no mention of any at the con. There was an anime costume contest that was to be held at Hard Rock Orlando later on, and that was pretty much it. Since there wasn’t much left to do besides shop more, we headed home.
According to fans who showed up, both Summer and Alan were at the costume contest at Hard Rock Orlando as judges. Only one Firefly-themed entry entered, a woman dressed as Zoe in her white dress (where was the fake Wash?), but she made it to finalist. Our BDHs asked a few questions, got some laughs, and at least Summer hung around to chat (haven’t heard about Alan). The pic to the right is of my son James (in the hat) with a wonderful teenage Mal in a detail-perfect costume we ran into Sunday.
We went back the next day and brought along the Firefly Barbie dolls my wife has been making so I could get pictures with the stars. Reaction was positive.
I pulled out the Wash doll and Alan did a doubletake. “Oh, my God… That’s great!” He immediately leaped up to stalk Summer with it, who was standing a few feet away talking to her sister. He let the doll Wash creep up her arm and then tapped her with it when she ignored him. After she turned around Doll Wash did a happy dance on her shoulder.
When he came back I showed him the River doll, whereupon Doll Wash (still in Alan’s hands) leaped on Doll River and dragged her behind the table to the delight of the people behind me in line and to unsuspecting Wash/River shippers everywhere. When things calmed down he heaped praise on Teres’ design and posed for photos.
Summer gave her doll a delighted reception. “Ahh! That is so cool! Ooohh…” She played with her doll self for a few minutes and posed for photos before turning to her sister. “Look! A River doll!” They gave it back somewhat reluctantly.
She also recognized James from yesterday, which made him inordinately smug for an hour or so afterwards. I’m not entirely sure his feet were touching the ground for the first few steps away, there.
While Teres’ dolls aren’t for sale — she loves creating them, but would get bored and annoyed trying to mass-produce them — there’s an open offer to any of the cast who want their own doll, just let us know (or have your publicist let us know, anyway).
And watch out, rest of the cast. Your plastic dopplegangers await…
I was disappointed in the lack of anything besides autographs and merchandise, but meeting Alan and Summer was worth it and if I didn’t have these pesky mortgage and food bills I could have happily spent days in the dealer rooms. Not bad.
I’m pretty sure my friends and I were right behind you in line to see Summer. I was the girl in the Double-Dare t-shirt. Hello again. 🙂 Alan’s exchange with Summer was hilarious! Ah, we love our BDHs.
Yup, I was the one juggling a movie poster, three 8×10 pics, my Whedon’s Bitch bag, and my camera while my sons laughed and offered vague support.
I took pics of both my sons with Alan and handed the camera to one of them for mine, and it died. There was a brief moment of panic as I worked feverishly to get it working long enough for one shot (it did) and then I replaced the batteries in line for Summer while maneuvering approximately 350 pounds of paper from one hand to another. Good times.
Did anyone go to the costume contest at Hard Rock Orlando? Did our BDHs show up?
I think we were in Wash’s line just ahead of you. We had the son dressed as Simon in the vest. He’s normally fairly shy, but Summer really made his day by calling him her brother and treating him very warmly. She is a sweetie.
Great write up on the convention – lots of good details. Hope to see you around – I see you’ve posted on the OB as well. 🙂
I’d have to agree with everything you said about the convention.
Let me add:
PARKING was a joke! For safety reasons they should have had an arsenal of people directing parking:we almost drove off a ditch because we didn’t see it in the grassy area. People parked any which way, some areas were inaccessible because people blocked off the end of the aisles, or just parked behind others blocking them in.
STAFF was uninformed–it was rather frustrating when my dh says to a staff member, “I have a question–” and the staff interupts with, “–and I’m sure I don’t know.” This guy wasn’t being sarcastic either–he REALLY didn’t know, as did the 3 other people dh asked, until finally he was pointed to someone who had half an answer. Ridiculous–one staff didn’t even know where the bathroom was. At least they should have the answers to the basic questions!!!
We saw you in line behind us (we had the little girl in pink, don’t know if you noticed the stressed out mother or not). Did your wife knit that cunning Jayne hat on your boy? 😀
Summer is a zillion times more beautiful than any of those used up “hotties”-that goes without saying! (and maybe Alan too…) I dropped my camera while in line to see Alan, so I had to take a picture with my cell phone.
FX is directed by Mark Herz (a full time real estate agent) and in the FX program he wrote the following, “I promote FX and Katie (his assistant) does the rest herself. Other events have a huge staff. I have Katie and she’s better.” NOTE to Mr Herz: that is why OTHER events are WELL ORGANIZED and do not have the disappointing problems this convention has had.
Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I’d rate FX a 3–only because Summer and Alan were there and made the aggravations worth while.
Hi! Heehee, some of my friends saw your pictures and emailed me – I’m the River wannabe… I have a fabulous pic of me and your son! Great writeup – I’m SOOOOO disappointed I didn’t go to the Hardrock party to see Summer and Alan a bit more. I was so nervous and tongue tied when I got to meet her…. Take care,
-Sam E.
Just a note in response to adiratyree. These people are basically volunteers. Volunteers do the best they can with the limited amount of info they usually have (I have volunteered other places).
I had NO trouble parking any of the 3 days. Katie kept the Browncoats who were on line for Summer on Friday night informed several times about when Summer would be arriving, she didn’t have to do that special but she did. While it is true that the volunteers were sometimes not very up to date on info it is, I did not let it spoil my weekend.
I will say it was crowded but it was nothing compared to DragonCon. FX Con did lack panels, which would have helped out greatly.
csteinme: Hey! We saw you and your son; I liked his Simon.
The knit hat came from Maggie Burns, who isn’t making them anymore. Sigh. But she posted the pattern on her site so you can make your own, and you can find more sources for Jayne hats here.
Hi, Sam! You really did look fantastic, you had River’s look down. You acted a little too lucid — at least while I was around — but other than that, perfect.
Hey! My fiance and I saw your son on Saturday. The teenaged Mal you posted a picture of is also a friend of mine. 😀
You may have seen me… I was wearing a blue shirt and a red/maroon coat, and I was at the very front of the line for Summer at the beginning on Friday, and I fangirled out on her. >>; I was worried I’d freak her out, but she seemed so touched that I liked her (and her character!) so much. XD;
Also, I think the woman who was with Summer was her manager.
Good Morning Wyyrdo & Family!
Checked my Whedonesque ‘widget’ when I got to work this morning. Your Barbie dolls are one of today’s features! 🙂
Then I went to my home site at morning break (The OB). I found this link in a thread where you had posted it. The OB is great once you know how it works. At the bottom of this post is a link to some navigational tips, if you need them. Just read the first 10-12 posts in the thread.
Anyhoo…I loved your report, I loved Teres’ Barbies and I love this site! Ya’ll are quite talented!
Keep Flyin’,
Flyhead / Susie
http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=foxfirefly&msg=12375.1
Great report, Chris. Do you happen to have an extra copy of the FX 2006 program? Or does anyone else out there?
I was so excited to be at the FX con! It was my first convention ever. *awe*. I commented on your shirt at one point, but I don’t think you heard me. lol. I was the one wearing the “Sunnydale” t-shirt and the wide-eyed grin. lol.
It’s so cool that you were so personable with Alan and Summer. Personally, when I met Alan I just kept my mouth shut. One part of my brain was saying, “Hello, Alan. It’s great to meet you.” and the other part was going, “Boxers or briefs? Have you ever had sex in the snow and do you believe in love at first sight?”
Sometimes I never know which side of my brain is going to win.
So, I just ended up saying “Hi. I made t-shirts.” lol. And I did. My friends and I made shirts and flocked around like wee little 19 year old fangirls.
In any case, sounds like you had an awesome time. And if you’re going to anymore Orlando or Tampa shows, lemmi know. I can make comments on your shirt again. 😉
‘Till then, keep flying!
Alida Hush
“B.O.O” Browncoats of Orlando
Hi everybody! That was a really nice article. Great job! That was my first sci fi convention and it was a lot of fun seeing all the costumes and meeting fellow browncoats. Sam, you looked great in your River garb! (I was the tall guy in the brown, leather trenchcoat). Firefly gal looked great, too. Subtorpman was the guy who was dressed as Wash. I think he gave Summer an Oscar statuette which read, “Best Actress”.
What really impressed me was how friendly, understanding and lovable Alan and Summer were in real life. I was quite star-struck, and I really appreciated how Alan and Summer both gracefully handled the fact that I didn’t seem to be able to speak coherently in their presence…
I have to agree with the above comments about Summer’s beauty. She was stunning.
Ah, it’s always feels good to read reports…feels like I was there…I wanted to be there! Thanks for taking the time to write it up! 🙂
Question- Did you catch Summer’s sister’s name?
heh I think I have a picture of your son with a couple storm troopers. ( http://overthemoo.livejournal.com/123710.html ) I was taking my lunch break on saturday and was walking back when I saw him. I was all, “Firefly and Star Wars together! *takes out camera*”
That River look-a-like was wicked. And the Zoe you got a picture with was incredibly sweet. We were talking about the broadway show Wicked friday night, because I was wearing a shirt from the tour.
I really enjoyed your review and the pictures. Sounds like you had fun! The highlight of the event for myself? (besides Harry Potter’s Seamus flashing me. Of course *weirded out*) Definitely was when I had came around to meet Summer again, I had forgotten something-long story, and she had this mock-shocked look on her face then greeted me with: “Helllooo, little one!” I thanked my calm side for preventing me from squeeing at the FF/Serenity reference…
In all seriousness though, the event really was a blast. Can’t wait until next year 🙂
Yup, that’s him. Cool!
Right after his photo, as we were walking away, someone else asked to pose with teh stormtroopers. He knelt and put his hands on his head and they circled him, aiming. HIs friend said, “OK, smile… if you can…”
I’m starting to think that everyone in the line has commented in this post…
hey wheres the picture of cindy williams shirley feeney i want to see that , i love cindy williams shes my idol and my favorite celebrity cindy williams i love you. thanks kelly brester
There was a brief moment of panic as I worked feverishly to get it working long enough for one shot (it did) and then I replaced the batteries in line for Summer while.
Has anybody seen the sneak peak of the next Harry Potter? I heard it’ll debut on HBO in late November.