B5 in 2023: Convention observations

[LateArrival]

First time starting a New Topic - fingers crossed.

Being somewhat Late to the party, attended a convention recently where B5 guest stars - Walter Koenig and Sarah Douglas - were present. Brings the total number of B5-related convention guests I've seen from Zero to Two. Chatted with other attendees while waiting for Mr. Koenig to arrive at his table, and while many of the people I spoke with "knew" of his appearance on B5, most were unfamiliar with the show itself. Probably mentioned "free streaming via Tubi TV" to eight people, as none of them were aware that the show could be seen in 2023 for Free (Free is Good). Were quite a few sample-photos of Bester at his table, so was able to point to those and say "That's the character".

However, during his Q&A panel on Sunday, the opposite was true from the strong audience response whenever B5 was mentioned, along with the number of B5-related vs Trek questions. Still, was interesting that while B5 is currently "free" in 2023 via a non-subscription service (Tubi), potentially interested people are unaware of it.




...lacking experience at these things was uncertain what to bring, so opted to lug along the title page from the Crusade episode "Value Judgements" and an official Bester Dol... err... Action Figure. He also autographed a B5Books Other Voices V2 as that volume contained a reprint of the "Value Judgements" script.




...perfectly good items now "ruined" with some Scribbles in blue ink. $60/per Scribble which makes me wonder about the Long Ago Days when the legends said Scribbles were Free (Free is Good).

[LateArrival]

Pretty much.

[Looney]

OH I have a wonderful, but very long Koenig convention tale to tell. Sorry I will not be sharing right now other than to tell you that on the eve of my brief ascension into the depths of Hollywood I went to a little Trek Convention in St Louis, Mo where I met the Fab 4 - Koenig, Doohan, Nichols and Takei. This was my second and most interesting meeting with Koenig. Anyway just to show how far things have come this was 1999 and I believe entry into this event was $10, but for a mere entry fee of $20 - $30 (It was somewhere in that range) you gained entry the event and one autograph from each of those esteemed guests. ......WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!! Also the day I fell madly in love with George Takei - which says how great he is because I'm a heterosexual man who is in love with a homosexual man who is older than his father. Wrap your head around that one. 😝

OH how I wish I had been with you at that Convention. I often wish I was a professional convention attendee, but I hear the pay stinks. 🤪

Perhaps Looney should attain some level of fame and then he would be invited to such events.

No joke I absolutely love to go to Conventions, but the extremely poor choices I've made in life make it financially prohibitive.

[Jan]

...perfectly good items now "ruined" with some Scribbles in blue ink. $60/per Scribble which makes me wonder about the Long Ago Days when the legends said Scribbles were Free (Free is Good).

I've been going to cons for a *long* time and actor scribbles have never been free in my experience. Authors, sometimes comic artists but not actors. Heck, even JMS has charged on and off in recent years.

LOVE going to cons and I'm pretty focused on what I do (for instance, I avoid the sales floor). I'm with Looney, though - Takei is a lovely man who really spends quality time with each fan. I've never gotten an autograph from him but watched for a couple of hours in between panels one time and he had the same quality of giving the fan his total attention that Rick Biggs had.