Here we go, finally. FedCon 18 is over (why, oh why?) and it’s time to trade stories and photos. Since there was so much going on, I will not split my reports by the days I spend there, like I did last year’s coverage, but I will just go by events. So, here’s my take on my trip to FedCon and on the press conference on Friday.

For full sets of images from the convention, please check out my gallery pages at In The Moment. They will constantly be updated over the next days.

Sleep? Pah!

Yeah, that’s what must have been on my mind subconsciously when I got ready on Wednesday because I didn’t make it to bed before midnight. Somehow, it hadn’t registered with me that five very long days lay ahead of me … and believe me when I tell ya, I am paying the price right now.

Having taken the early flight, I arrived at the Maritim Congress Hotel in Bonn, Germany, already at 11 am  and could even check in. Being part of the DVD crew, I was privileged to have a room at the convention hotel, which was incredibly comfortable. I can’t thank INTEX Digital Sound, who produces the DVD’s and paid for everything for the whole DVD crew during the weekend, enough.

Since the rest of the team wasn’t there yet, I spend a restless hour on the couch in the hotel lobby, watching other people work (set up the con area) and looking out for any guest stars, but no one showed.

Lights! Sound! Camera!

When we were finally assembled together – twelve scifi fans from all around Germany, some more and some less experienced in the field of media production – we took on the challenge of setting up the equipment. And it constantly surprised me, how much stuff one can fit into two average cars. I myself got to handle HD cameras and camera tripods worth of thousands of Euros, not to mention the rest of the equipment.

After settling in next to the sound crew on the balcony in the main room (dubbed ‘Mainbrindge’, to stay with the theme of the convention), my longest task included taping the camera wire, which ran from the balcony down and the entire width of the room, to the carpet. That was a safety measure both for the guests to prevent them tripping and for our cameras, to prevent them being torn off the pedestals. At midnight, we were finally settled in and had to leave the Mainbridge. The light technicians had to make a dry run of the lasershow they had planned for the Opening Ceremony and that required obscene amounts of smoke, forcing the hotel to shut off the smoke detectors in that part of the hotel and every one not involved in the light show had to leave the area. Not that we minded after six hours of set up.

Press Conference

John Billingsley at the press conference

The next morning, after breakfast … oh, wait! I am just typing this away, but you have to know that I actually got to enjoy the breakfast in the Maritim. Why is that so special? Well, mainly because it meant that I constantly ran into some guest star during the times we ate. In the morning, it was usually John Billingsley and his amazing wife who sat not far away; Jeffrey Combs was around as well and Marc Alaimo was checking out the buffet from time to time. It was weird and cool to pass them between the tables, but the best thing was that – despite being recognized by the fans – they were left to themselves and could enjoy their meals in quiet, without being bugged with requests for autographs or pictures.

Being part of the DVD crew also meant I was in for a very special treat: I could attend the press conference. And that meant being stuffed in a small and hot room with dozens of journalists, but also with a squad of world famous actors. Now, that made my day.

Richard Hatch,Robert Picardo,Edward James Olmos,Nichelle Nichols,Colin Ferguson,Jordan Hinson,Nana Visitor,Jeffrey Combs

In attendance were Nana Visitor, Marc Alaimo, Jonathan Woodward, Jeffrey Combs, Jordan Hinson, Colin Ferguson, Nichelle Nichols, Edward James Olmos, Michael Hogan, Robert Picardo, Richard Hatch, John Billingsley, Mark Sheppard, Richard Arnold and Marc B. Lee. That covered the shows of Firefly/Serenity, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Enterprise, Star Trek: The Original Series, Eureka, and Battlestar Galactica. Nichelle Nichols arrived a little later to a long round of applause and took her seat next to Eddie Olmos, radiating.

Edward James Olmos being the perfect gentleman and pouring a glass of water for Nichelle Nichols

Colin Ferguson, Sheriff Carter of “EUReKA”, looks just as cute and hot in real life as he does on screen. Very tall, warm smile, very modest. Edward James Olmos, known for his success as Admiral Adama in the re-imagined “Battlestar Galactica”, has an incredible presence. He has the look; he doesn’t need to do much to impress people. Very deep and raspy voice. Michael Hogan, Colonel Saul Tigh of “BSG”, was a pleasant surprise. His character is always grumpy and on the edge of smacking somebody. Michael Hogan himself is the sweetest guy – laughing a lot, joking around. Robert Picardo and John Billingsley were very courteous, and Mark Sheppard clearly suffered from jet lag, but that didn’t keep him from being humorous.

Thanks to a hint from a fellow crew member, I positioned myself to the right of the actors, next to the screen that constantly showed wallpaper and fan art which the fans from the OSTFC board had created before the convention. Apart from the fact that it was cool to have the actors look directly in my direction, it was great to see how much they enjoyed the fans efforts. Jordan Hinson, Zoe Carter of “EUReKA”, watched fascinated and from time to time nudged her TV dad Colin Ferguson when a wallpaper of him was showing. Robert Picardo was completely taken and stared at the screen almost all the time when he wasn’t answering questions.  Even Edward James Olmos, Nichelle Nichols, Mark Sheppard and John Billingsley were distracted and clearly waited expectantly for the next wallpaper to appear on the screen.

Robert Picardo is captivated by the wallpapers made by fans

Besides the serious questions, there were many hilarious moments during the conference. One was Jeffrey Combs’ reaction to the question how it was to live in ‘Obama-America’. The actors were looking at each other when Combs jumped up and screamed “Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Jeffrey Comb’s reaction to the question how it was to live in Obama-America

Marc B. Lee, our Master of Ceremonies and an African-American, completed the scene by standing up and shouting: “You are welcome!” down the aisle. Political questions were later also asked in the panels of the BSG actors and it was soul-soothing to hear their answers (to learn about them, wait for my next reports).

Another fun moment occurred when a reporter started her sentence with “I have a question for Mark.”  After a second’s silence, Marc Alaimo, Mark Sheppard and Marc B. Lee got up. “Which one?” Sheppard asked dryly.

Mark Sheppard answers a reporter’s question

Michael Hogan was the funniest one, though, when he – during a lull in the Q&A, suddenly got up and climbed on top of his chair: “Now that you’ve all taken your pictures, it’s my turn. On the count of three, please all look at me and say ‘cheese’!” Well, the press corps did not mess with the Colonel and did exactly as it was told.

Michael Hogan taking a picture of the assembled press

Overall, it was a pretty neat experience, even though I wish that some of the reporters would have asked more sensible questions and would have directed their questions at a specific actor instead of just putting it in front of all of them. In the end, they all assembled for for a group picture, which gave me the opportunity to get some nice close up shots.  After that, it was back to work – and I had no idea what lay ahead of me that day. A charming Richard Hatch, a funny Dominik Keating, a powerful Edward James Olmos, an incredible Nichelle Nichols and a hysterical John Billingsley. Oh, did I mention the Opening Ceremony? And the 28 minute preview of the new Star Trek movie? Men with night-goggles? You see, there’s a lot to talk about. Stay tuned!

Nana Visitor of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the grand old lady of the original Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols

For full sets of images from the convention, please check out my gallery pages at In The Moment. They will constantly be updated over the next days.

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