That was THE most fun Fest!  It was a nice crowd-- not as many people as I anticipated for a milestone anniversary on the East coast, but I'm not complaining.  Maybe the attendance was 2000?

It was definitely the most expensive, however.  I'm referring to the temptations on the various tables.  The setup was a bit more like a typical autograph show than in Fests past, or at least that's how it seemed to me.  I had to pick up RJ's book, the audio CDs, a bit of fan fic, a photo from Betsy Durkin, the Bloopers DVD and a coupla other new MPI goodies, another charm from CynD, and Donna McKechnie's book.  I decided to wait to get KLS' fic since she will sign books ordered online same as if they're bought in person.  I've heard good things about it, but I have plenty of reading to keep me busy for a while.  Lara Parker did steady business, but I'd already received her new novel as a gift.

mscbryk, thank you for pointing that out about the 1st ep voiceover's script!  But Lara Parker as Vicki bugged me anyway.  My favorite casting for those presentations was Jerry Lacy as Bramwell.  Bette pointed out for me, and I thought it was cool, that the final line of dialogue from the series was given to Bramwell as originally intended instead of spoken by Ben as we saw on the series [spoiler]("If I didn't know better... I'd say she'd been attacked by a vampire").[/spoiler]

Quote from: mscbryk on August 28, 2006, 06:00:11 PM

jonathan frid's surprise phone call was cool too.

He called while the fest was going? What did he say?

Let me see... He began by introducing himself as "Jonathan Frid, or 'Barny'".  He was surprised and thrilled there was a thousand people hearing his voice and Pierson indicated there were many more present.  He said, "Guess what?" and told us he was reviewing the script he'd be reading later that day for placement soon on his website.  He's still bug-eyed about the technology but considers playing with his website to be his new career.  He was afraid the call wasn't going to happen because he hadn't paid his bill; apparently Bell Canada had been trying to reach him but he didn't realize it was to get him to pay.  How awful it would be if the call was cut off, he said, but at least service was working at that moment, or at least he could receive calls (which I assume meant that Pierson made the call).  His email system broke down recently, so he would've thought it dreadful to not have phone service either.  Pierson said it was 39 years for Frid, who responded, "How time flies."  He mentioned Gone With the Wind coming out around 1940 but losing its cast quickly, with only Olivia de Havilland left for a time, and Pierson pointed out that she was still with us.  Frid:  "She's still here?  For heaven's sake."  He said not to be facetious, "but so many of us are gone."  He believes they [his DS castmates who have passed away] are all happy wherever they are.  "Here I am," he said, "I am going to live forever" and the audience applauded wildly.  Pierson listed the cast members that were present representing the show (a panel was about to take place) and said we will see his video later that night.  Frid:  "It will be a surprise... the most real representation of my ugly face."  Then, "I'm very pleased with my appearance for 81, 82, whatever I am."  He was told we love him, and he said he hoped we'll enjoy his video.  Pierson bid him well and the call was over.

David Selby called the call a treat and said video was needed; Frid could talk to us sitting in his slippers and robe.  KLS said she had tears in her eyes when she heard Jonathan's voice.  Lara Parker also started her talk with a mention about hearing Jonathan's voice and for some reason had to bring up his forgetting his lines on the show. 

Quote from: retzev on August 29, 2006, 05:31:06 PM

I didn't get to meet as many people from the forum as I had hoped. I guess when you only know usernames and avatars, it's hard to pick faces out of a crowd
Teresalita, I wish our chat hadn't been so brief, I was in a bit of a dispute with the hotel. I thought I'd get more oppurtunity later but all weekend was a whirlwind, I can't believe how quickly it was over. I also got to  meet Midnite, who was so sweet and charmed the hell out of me! And I met Barnabasjr, super-cool laid-back guy. There are so many others I wish I had met, I sure would like to put faces to usernames. All in all, a great time. I 'm glad I came, it was worth it.

Thanks, cousin, same to ya! I, too, was SO looking forward to meeting people from this forum, particularly Mysterious Benefactor, Midnite, retzev, BuzzH, Gothick, CyrusL, ProfStokes, and others that I knew through these boards would be attending. I recognized retzev from his myspace page and we hit it off really well and spent a good amount of time together. While we were at the bar Saturday night he pointed out who he thought may be Midnite and it was! We had a really nice conversation, but she was busy and had to scram. I'm truly sorry that I didn't meet more people from here, but it was a very busy fest that was over before you knew it and that was that!

retzev and barnabasjr, OMG.  Here were these two cute but totally new faces seated at the bar and the next thing I knew, one of them was asking if I were Midnite-- that blew me away.  I'm glad you both had a great time.  I wish we could've spoken longer, but unfortunately I was fulfilling a duty at that moment as a member of RJ Jamison's "entourage," lol.  But fortunately, the lost item I was in search of when I met you both was found, yay.

Saturday wasn't nearly as satisfying to me as Sunday was, although the ever-cool auction was a blast, as was Nancy Barrett's performance, despite MANY audio problems. Finally being able to see the WB pilot was also totally cool, although it was much different than I'd imagined.

Sunday's activities were awesome from start to finish, some of the best I've seen at a fest, and made me realize how much I truly enjoyed being a fan and attending these fests.

I'm with you, barnabasjr!  Sunday's programming exceeded Saturday's with only the DS Reborn presentation as a standout, even despite the microphone issues.  Could the project be better represented?  Wow.  Sunday peaked with RJ Jamison's time on stage.  It had the best Q&A by far, too.  Sunday's auction was also very enjoyable (and didn't cost me anything this year, hee).  And Frid's surprise call gave me goosebumps.

I also enjoyed meeting mscbryk (!!!), Pansity and Angelique Wins.

LOVED seeing cousins Teresalita and ReneeC (that was all too brief, and I so wanted to see pics of your house, Teresa), MsCriseyde, Sheenasma, ClaudeNorth (come back to us, we love you!), D Friedlander, Minja, BuzzH, Nancybe, Julia99, Bette, CyrusL, joe integlia, Crazy Jenny, Penny Dreadful, John in SC, Nancy, Raineypark, victoriawinters, Dawn, Karlenfan, darkshadowsrick, Cassandra, The Ghost of Sarah Collins, ProfStokes, Bobubas, Stuart, Selby D. Pearson, EmeraldRose, Evan Hanley, jimbo, Mary, Gothick, JVjr (whom I almost didn't recognize), LdyAnne, LeBrat, and Shadowlady!

Charles Ellis and VAM, sorry I didn't get to say hello.  I heard you were both marvelous at the Costume Gala.

Joeytrom, did I miss an opportunity to meet you again?!!

MB, argh, your absence was deeply felt. 

I was in the city during the banquet, and since I don't recall seeing any mention of it in Fest reports I must ask... Was anything said during or following the banquet about the next Fest?  Was a next Fest even mentioned by the Fest staff or actors, as in "see you all next year," or anything?

My friends and I want Vegas, Vegas, Vegas!   (hint hint for Ann Wilson)

Pignoli cookies, sigh.

Quote from: Satan link=9596.msg80867 date=1156241718

I don't like Frankenstien storylines. It doesn't work for shows. They tried it on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and that season/villain is considered one of the least favorite among fans.

Prbably because the fans are mindless teenagers who only want something of sexual fantasy value. They don't want to actually think. I don't think Barny or any vampire would be popular if there wasn't strong sex vibes that Hollywood invented. Real vampires legends say that they have foul breath and appear more like Nosferatu. I don't think Nos is sexy.

America really has to grow up.

thirdratehack, I'd recommend the online discussions on Buffy forums about the show's Season 4 because I'm confident that if you check them out, you will find intelligent, thoughtful discussion, and that its devotees run the age gamut.

And in fact, a simple search of these Forums (the Search feature is our best kept secret ) should reveal that many DS fans are also into Buffy.  Like Satan, I thought the characterization of its fans as mindless teenagers was unfairly harsh.

Adam is my least favorite of the Buffy villains too because I just didn't find him compelling or interesting.  He lacked the humanity that Robert Rodan brought to his characterization.  That is one reason that Season 4 is my least favorite (can you say Riley?), though like my least favorite DS storylines there is also much to love about it-- what was done with Oz and Faith, as examples, and the introduction of Tara and the First Slayer.

From the Forum Guidelines, agreed to by all members at registration:

3. Debate should be kept on a non-personal basis. Flaming and name-calling will not be allowed. It is never appropriate to attack, criticize, or condemn another poster. Retaliation, sharp reproof and cynicism are to be avoided. Disagreement is a natural occurrence, but as stated above, should be done in a respectful manner. Likewise, these disagreements should not be continued beyond the normal limits of interesting discourse. Argument for argument's sake is not welcome.

4. If a poster feels wronged, slighted, or offended by another poster, these disagreements should be taken up in private e-mail between the posters. These disagreements may also be brought to the forum moderator, if necessary, but members are strongly encouraged to solve these problems among themselves off-board.

Please avoid making the debate personal.  Thanks.

Welcome, Bugsie! 

CyrusL,  

Wishing you a delightful birthday!

There is a "ProfStokes" here already. I didn't realize it until after I had already registered. Maybe I should change my handle to avoid confusion?

It's not necessary, Professor.  Just check out all the username variations of Barnabas.  Your name is varied enough for readers to (I think) easily tell you apart, your posting levels are quite different-- ProfStokes is a Senior poster, and her avatar looks nothing like yours anyway. 

Regarding spoiler warnings, in addition to the tags there's also a message icon, all courtesy of our webmaster, MysteriousB.