You may send this con report to anyone you wish, but please keep give me credit by leaving my email address, lanshark@scf.nmsu.edu, attached.
Hope you had a fine holiday weekend. I just returned today from attending Visions '96, a very nice primarily British-media fan run convention that takes place over Thanksgiving weekend each year in Chicago.
The backbone of the con goers in the past has been Doctor Who fans, but with no new series in the offing (despite the TV movie last May), Who fandom is in a slow decline. So starting last year, Babylon 5 has been added to the line-up, and this year Forever Knight was added (although that series is now also cancelled, I understand).
Having first gone to this con last year, I can say there is a HUGE increase in interest in Babylon 5 over last year. There is much more B5 merchandise (although I'm afraid some of it might have been illegal, so I decided not to buy some items that I really would have liked to have). There were far more B5 vids playing in the video rooms, and it seemed that every third person was wearing a B5 T-shirt or B5 hat. Was great to see that. This show *is* really catching on, at least with Doctor Who fans in general.
Claudia was definitely the life of the con. If you EVER have a chance to see Claudia at a con, DO NOT MISS IT!! You won't regret it. I'm afraid my writing ability totally fails to describe her adequately :) Considering all the heavy stuff that Ivanova goes through, I'm amazed that CC is ever able to be serious for the length of time necessary to do a take. Her Friday panel session with Richard Biggs was practically a non-stop laugh riot for one and a half hours.
RB was also a fantastic con guest, and he and CC have great chemistry on stage together. You can really tell they work a lot together because they were so in sync with some of the stories they told.
On to some of the questions asked by the audience (now this isn't word for word, because it's all from memory, so hopefully the gist is at least correct). This is really an amalgam of questions asked over three separate panels over three days.
CAUTION: The following is from memory and notes. I did not have a tape recorder or video recorder, so what lies within are not exact quotes. I should also mention that CC is given to exaggeration and she kids a great deal. Many times she said to the audience, "I'm only kidding! Gee, you guys shouldn't take me so seriously!". So take that into account when you read this.
Q: What was it like working with Michael O'Hare vs. Bruce Boxleitner?Other miscellaneous notes:CC: "Do you know the difference between a migraine and a slight headache?" Evidently, MO is *very* serious and intense when working, and CC is *NOT* :) Definitely a clash of personalities there. Having seen MO last year at Visions, he was very relaxed and friendly to everyone, so I tend to think it's a work thing with him, but it's not like I actually *know* him.
RB disagrees with CC. He liked MO's intensity as Sinclair, saying he'd follow that man anywhere, whereas BB is more like a good old boy "Come on guys, let's go fight some aliens!" CC says she thinks BB is also very commanding with plenty of presence, RB thinks MO had more of that.
Q: Who has the best concentration on the show and who has the worst [with regards to acting]?
CC and RB both agree immediately that Jason Carter gets very nervous and tends to lose his concentration the easiest. Boxleitner also gets very flustered if he's already screwed up a couple of times. From the regulars, Andreas Katsulas probably has the best concentration, and rarely messes up. Mira also rarely screws up, and then it's usually a language difficulty, and then she's very hard on herself (to which Claudia says, "Which is ridiculous because her English is so perfect"). They also mentioned that Walter Koenig ("He *is* Bester!") does every take exactly the same and can't be distracted at all when he's working.
Q: How old were you when you had your first romantic kiss?
CC: 5 years old with a boy named Daniel Boone ("I kid you not").
RB: 18 as a college freshman.
CC: "Get out of here! I didn't know that about you! How sweet...... pathetic, but sweet."
RB: "I've made up for it in the meantime."Q: What is your biggest challenge off the set?
RB: "Balancing personal life with professional life."
CC: "Saving money."
RB: Goes into this story of how CC shops in the most expensive grocery place in all of LA, and then complains that she can't save money. "Have you ever heard of Safeway?" he asks CC.CC Refuses to buy anything that comes in two liter plastic bottles with metal screw tops. CC is also a self-described "bookaholic" and can't control herself in a book store. She reads just about anything. She also likes edged weapons and does sabre and epee (fencing). "I like edged weapons. I like edged weapons... a lot."
Q: Do any of you know any of the stars from the Trek shows?
CC: "I'm friends with Terry Farrell [DS9's Dax]". CC goes into this hilarious story about how she and Farrell when on the way to fly back from a con they both attended, were wearing hats from each others shows. This fan comes up to Farrell and pointed to Farrell's B5 hat says. "You know, I like your show so much better than the other one." TF says "What the hell do you mean that?!" Mortified fan finally realizes the hats are switched and runs away (according to CC :)
Q: When asked which actor on the show they particularly like to work with?
RB: Likes working very much with Jason Carter, and mentions that his character and Marcus go undercover to Mars. He didn't mention an episode name, but I'd guess that this would have to be "Racing Mars" (this episode is number 10 for this season, and will probably be shown sometime in March 1997, it's being filmed right now). He says they make a great team.
[Personal note: I've got the feeling that RB might have taken a bit of pity on Jason Carter and took him under his wing a bit, because the rest of the cast was giving him a very hard time (not totally undeserved :) because he was the new kid on the block. Apparently Jason would go off on some major USA bashing at times, especially when he first joined, and BB, Jerry Doyle and CC would tell him in no uncertain terms to go back where he came from if it's so great in England. RB and CC also mention that while the rest of the cast all had their own chairs with their names embroidered on the backs, JC only had a chair with a piece of tape with his name written on it. One day he finally got his embroidered chair, at which point he rushes out with the new chair and gives the the Sally Fields Oscar speech ("You really like me!").]
You know, I can't remember exactly what CC said, but she mentioned that she and Pat Tallman (Lyta Alexander) get on famously and are good friends.
Q: What do you think of your new co-star Jason Carter?
CC: "I hate that limey bastard! [long pause, audience is murmuring] I'm kidding!!!"
RB: Likes Jason a lot and they work well together.Q: Are Ivanova and Marcus going to become an item?
CC: She honestly doesn't know and called Marcus "that virgin puppy", she doesn't want to have to train him. "I want someone who knows what they're doing, I don't have time for that!"
Q: Asked if Lyta and Ivanova were going to become an item?
CC: Earlier she didn't think so, but then there were those scenes in "Hour of the Wolf" and there seemed to be a new intimacy between their characters, so she simply doesn't know.
Q: What gives you the most trouble on B5 as far as acting?
Both CC and RB agree it's the technobabble. It doesn't make sense to them, so it's hard to memorize for them. RB made a hilarious comment about Tallman's line in "The Summoning" (I think), "How are you going to say that line with a straight face?" "The best I can." At which Claudia does an impression of Lyta: "Why did you have to pull out of me so fast? You hurt me!" (you know, I never put that particular interpretation on that scene. OK, so I'm slow! ;)
Q: (I'm paraphrasing, but basically) "Did Talia and Ivanova go all the way?"
CC: CC pretty much said it's up to the audience to intrepret it, and she didn't particularly care one way or another. She did say that she had told JMS long ago that she absolutely, positively, did NOT want to do the boyfriend of the week thing (she hinted that she didn't want there to be any way that it could be interpreted that Ivanova slept her way to the top, although she joked about this). She told JMS, "Give me a girl or an alien!".
Q: In "Divided Loyalties", was there a scene cut where Ivanova and Talia kissed?
CC: "No, it was never filmed. But we practiced backstage... a lot, just incase." (I think she was joking, but this gives you a feel for CC humor :)
Q: Couldn't it be seen that by making Ivanova gay that this is perpetuating the stereotype that the only strong women are lesbians?
CC: "No! It was only one night!" She has to really think about this one. CC basically says that it shouldn't matter either one way or another, it doesn't matter what you are, she doesn't care what anyone does. She also mentions that she feels that everyone, deny it if they will, have had at least once had an attraction to the same sex "Hell I used to make out with my girlfriends when I was a little kid, it didn't check first to see if it's a boy or a girl!"
There was also an earlier question about "What's the strangest thing you've ever done?" which RB refused to answer, but when CC was talking about bisexuality in this question, RB says, "That's the strangest thing I've ever done." I don't know if he was kidding or not.
Q: When asked if there was a reason why she only wore one earring:
CC: In memory for both her dead brother in the show (Ganya, killed in the Earth-Minbari war), and for her dead brother in real life.
Regarding the joke Bill Mumy (Lennier) pulled on Jason Carter: CC says, "Jason actually had tears in his eyes and was going around moping all day saying 'What did I do?' which is when everyone realized the joke had gone too far...... except me. Ever since then, Jason's been a lot quieter."
CC did an impression of JMS from when he went to the con where he was greeted by dead silence (this is the Andreas Katsulas-Peter Jurasik joke). CC also did a very good impression of Stephen Furst (Vir) and Kate Mulgrew as Capt. Janeway (including the helium voice!).
Don't know how many of you watch Red Dwarf, but a fan dressed up as Rimmer from the episode with the holovirus ("Don't make Mr. Flibble angry!") went near the stage to get a better picture of Claudia and Richard. Claudia, who often stands up and moves around when doing question and answer sessions, caught sight of the costume and almost shrieked, jumped back and said "What the hell is that?!" to the hapless fan (it was a very good job on the costume, down to the blond wig and pigtails and Mr. Flibble :)
only spoilers for season 1-3 bloopers, didn't see any season 4 bloopers.. Danger, Will Robinson! There are four letter words in here :) only spoilers for season 1-3 bloopers, didn't see any season 4 bloopers..OK, I got to see the B5 blooper reel. This was first shown Thursday night, but I didn't arrive at the con until Friday. There was a repeat showing at 12:55 late Saturday (actually Sunday morning) that I my friend and I were determined to stay up and see. We were surprised when the vid room was at least three quarters full, at 1:00AM! They showed season 1 and 2, to the great amusement of all. Richard Biggs brought season 3 bloopers as well and these were shown after the Sunday CC and RB panel.
Again, this is all from memory, so there are bound to be some inaccuracies.
My favorite season 1 blooper was from "Parliment of Dreams" where Garibaldi finds the pink underwear in G'kar's quarters and askes G'kar, "Are these yours, Ambassador?" Andreas Katsulas, still in G'kar mode, snatches them away and says "No, their your mother's." Jerry Doyle snatches the underwear back and stretches the underwear out sideways and says, "If they were my mother's, they'd be like this." Andreas asks Jerry to leave, and Jerry then pauses and says suggestively, "You know, I'm feeling...... strangely stimulated."
Another great one from season 1, "Voice in the Wilderness" part 2, when Londo is piloting and Draal, Delenn and the alien guy (the previous caretaker of the great machine) down to Epsilon 3, Jurasik is reading a LA road map (he stays in Londo mode the entire time). "If we take the 405, we can catch this connection here. Yes. There will be a rest stop soon." Draal: "Thank God." (you might remember that Draal was portrayed by the same actor back then that does Brother Theo now). Londo: "I know now where we are going."
One of the best from season 2, was from "Soul Mates". When Londo is injured by the Centauri statuette and collapes, Boxleitner says, "Med lab! This is Sinclair!" He had a hard time living that one down, everyone was patting him on the back in a comforting manner, while he tried to hide.
Also from season 2, but we finally get to see what Lennier and Delenn are
saying to each other in Minbari when Sheridan is called away from their
dinner in "Confessions and Lamentations". It's now obvious why the undertitles
had to be cut:
Lennier: "I bet that motherf[[...]]er didn't even taste my flarn."
Delenn: "Your flarn sucks anyway."
And for you Vickery fans, yes, he is in the season 2 blooper reel as Welles ("The Fall of Night"), but I think it's Claudia that screwed up (JV just made a silly face).
Another from "The Fall of Night", at the end where everyone is discussing just exactly what everyone saw in the Zen garden (when Kosh first emerged from his suit), Londo is supposed to say, "I saw nothing", instead he says "I thought I saw a pussycat. I *did* see a pussycat."
And from Season 3, a Marcus one, and I don't know what episode this is from:
Marcus: "So, you must be Marcus.
Another season 3, from "Severed Dreams", Delenn is going through her speech
before the Grey council...... with staff in hand.... and it's a one of
the most dramatic scenes in B5, which harkens back to King Arthur and
Excalibur.. Delenn is *meant* to break the staff...... and Mira can't break
the damn thing, she cracks up and says "I'm sorry!" I'm not sure I'll ever be
able to watch that scene again with a straight face.
Season 3 classic.... Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, playing a Centauri prophetess,
runs smack into a recalcitrant door that won't open. She says, "Don't worry,
I'm used to it."
On a totally unrelated note, Ben Bass (played vampire Vachon in "Forever
Knight") was the surprise hit of the celebrity vareity show. He's an excellent
guitarist and singer. Claudia wasn't at the variety show (I think she fell
ill Sat. afternoon, I know her voice was going fast), RB told some jokes.
Regards,
Lanshark (lanshark@scf.nmsu.edu)