Tag: geekery

HalCon 2016 Highlights

/ Gary Hilson / 1 Comment

HalCon 2016 is the last sizeable convention of the year for me. I normally don’t travel too far for a con, but I have a friend gracious enough to host me for an extended weekend.

It’s the second year I have attended. Size-wise, it’s smaller than Toronto ComiCon held in March and Ottawa ComiCon in May, and on par with London ComiCon held in September.

img_0029For me, who’s attending the con is always a factor for me, and this year’s draw was Gates McFadden, otherwise known as Dr. Beverly Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. At her booth, I asked her why she chose Halifax among all of the other conventions being held during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. Her answer was the same as LeVar Burton’s when I met him in London, Ontario in September: “I’ve never been here before.”

I enjoyed her Q+A panel for the most part, although I waited in line to ask a question the entire session only for it to run out of time. McFadden said it’s only been in recent years she’s been able to really begin to enjoy conventions, having had a stalker years ago while teaching at a university.

Highlights of her chat included how she actually saw herself as a pretty hilarious prankster on the set of TNG, even if cast mates didn’t: Brent Spiner didn’t appreciate her putting Hello Kitty stickers all over his dressing room / trailer, for example. McFadden spoke highly of both David Bowie and Jim Henson while working on Labyrinth as well.

jeremy-bulloch-autograph-1The other guest I was looking forward to was Jeremy Bulloch, who played the original Boba Fett in Star Wars. A well spoken and funny gentleman, he brought up some fans on stage during his panel and even recruited one to help perform Hamlet. Bulloch also appeared in two different Doctor Who stories. His second one, The Time Warrior, marked the first appearance of the Sarah Jane Smith, played by the late Elizabeth Sladen, who was a fan favourite.

One thing I’ve found after attending conventions regularly over the last couple of years is that there’s always a guest I didn’t plan to meet who turns out to be a new favourite. Natalia Tena, who played Tonks in the Harry Potter series of films, was very funny. And she’s in a band, too.

img_0062Another pleasant surprise was meeting Jenny Frison, a comic book cover artist and illustrator. I did not realize how many covers of hers I actually owned, but recognized her work immediately. I ended up buying three large prints from her, as well as some of small books showcasing her covers over the years. Frison only does covers, and sees interior art as a different mindset, nothing that some covers by comic book artists that do interior art often end up looking like interior splash pages.

She also talked me into picking up the first collected edition of Revival, written by her brother-her-law, Tim Seeley. I had planned on meeting him so he could sign my first issue of the short-lived yet clever Effigy. Rounding out the trio was Revival artist Mike Norton. They all hail from the Chicago area.

img_0063Another writer I’ve always wanted to meet is Charles de Lint, who hails from Ottawa. Over the years he’s even set some of urban fantasy stories in the nation’s capital. I bought a couple of books from him and chatted with him and wife. Canadian writer Julie Czernada was also on hand. I’ve never read her work, but she’s been on my to read list for a while. I had her sign one of her novels I picked up at the Word of the Street festival in September.

img_0061The floor space for vendors and exhibitors is a pretty decent size. For me, it’s a nice change as there are vendors who don’t make it to Ontario. I bought some Doctor Who, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Star Trek fridge magnets from two different local artists, who are friends and have their own art styles. Meanwhile, I did see two Toronto-area artists who I’ve supported in the past and made the trip out to Halifax.

248271a8-d20d-4f2f-b152-b03adec7fc26Cosplay, of course, has become a big part of conventions, and last year was the first time I saw cosplayers as invited guests. Toronto-area cons have since followed suit. However, this year, there weren’t many cosplay booths although there so great costumes, including the return of the Incredibles family, and a great Hawk-family.

HalCon is not a great show for comic books, so while I did manage to get handful of back issues at the convention, I fared better at the local shops, as my friend was also willing to trundle me around. There are six comic book stories in the greater Halifax area, and I was able to hit three. Lower Sackville is home to Cape and Cowl, one of the nicest shops I’ve been to anywhere. It’s struggling, however. I spent a little more than I normally would because I wanted to support the owner. The shop is well-laid out, has a good mix of new and older back issues, as well as toys and collectibles. It also has safe space for the LGBTQ community.

This was the sixth and last sizeable convention of the year for me. There are a couple of one-day comic day shows between now and Christmas here in Toronto, but the next convention for me will be Toronto ComiCon in March. Next year, HalCon will be in late September and in a large facility as the new convention centre in Halifax will be complete, so the show will be a lot different.

The Best of All Cliffhangers

/ Gary Hilson

“I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life, as it has been, is over. From this time forward you will service us.”

“Mr. Worf: Fire.”

bobwSeason-ending cliffhangers are now standard practice on both network and cable TV series, but in 1990, they weren’t so common, and the season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation made jaws drop.

The first part of “The Best of Both Worlds” had Star Trek fans and casual viewers wondering all summer if Captain Jean-Luc Picard would survive his assimilation by the relentless Borg, while TV critics were comparing the cliffhanger to the infamous season ender of Dallas in 1980: the mystery of “Who shot J.R.” was the most watched program in television history for its day.

TNG’s “Best of Both Worlds” remains one of the most effective season finales of any Star Trek series – arguably of any series – because it looks like there is no way out: Picard is lost; Riker will soldier on as captain of the Enterprise with ambitious newcomer Commander Shelby as his first officer.

I spent that summer wondering if Picard would return in season four. It was hard to contemplate Star Trek: The Next Generation without Patrick Stewart, especially since the series had found its creative footing in season three. The return of Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher coupled with some great storytelling begged the question: If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Even without the ubiquitous Internet and social media, there was chatter that Patrick Stewart was leaving the show, apparently unhappy with the series’ scripts – these rumors could be traced back to an uneven second season that was cut short by a writer’s strike. I vaguely recall reading a brief news item in Starlog magazine that fueled the fire; it also reported Wil Wheaton was leaving the series, something that did come to pass.

The late Michael Piller, who scripted the episode, made use of his own inner turmoil to drive the story as he debated whether to continue on as head of the show’s writing team; the episode became a Riker-centric story that reflected Piller’s own dilemma. (He would ultimately stay on through the end of the series, co-create Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager and write the screenplay for Star Trek: Insurrection).

Riker’s struggle with the prospect of promotion rings true given that he’s already turned down command twice, and it adds to the overall sense that things will inevitably change aboard the Enterprise, especially since Shelby is convinced she’s going to land the first officer’s gig.

But what really made “The Best of Both Worlds” cliffhanger so compelling was that Piller had in fact painted himself into a corner. He didn’t think he’d have to worry about solving a seemingly unsolvable problem: how to save Picard and defeat the Borg. When “To Be Continued” appears on the screen backed up by Ron Jones’ chilling music, it’s hard to imagine how the rest of the story will unfold.

Nearly 23 years later, it’s still an amazing hour of television. A feeling of foreboding hangs over the scene where Picard and Guinan discuss the tradition of a captain touring his ship on the eve of a hopeless battle and how Nelson never returned from Trafalgar, even though the battle was won.

And it even holds up well on the big screen. Last week the combined two-part “Best of Both Worlds” was shown in theatres across North America, and while the second half struggles to live up to the first (most second parts in the Star Trek universe do), as a feature film it compares well to the actual Star Trek movies. The special effects are still convincing, especially considering they were produced on a television budget with older technology, and the story slowly builds tension throughout the first half with a seamless transition into a faster paced second half.

The big screen debut of “The Best of Both Worlds” serves as a reminder that Star Trek works better on television when the characters are allowed to develop and the story lines are allowed to evolve over time. Viewed on television it is Star Trek at its finest and holds its own against big screen lens flare.

Gary Hilson is a Toronto-based freelance writer, editor and content strategist storyteller. “The Best of Both Worlds” Parts I & II is available today on BluRay as a feature-length film as is the entire third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.