After Thought

Well, not really an after thought. I was saving a portion of this next part for my con report, but it was cool (for me) & currently on my mind, so I'll mention it now. Ben sat next to me at the charity breakfast. :) No, I didn't pass out or anything, nor did I totally cease to function. (yay!) Though really I didn't ask what I wanted nor say what I wanted. I was listening to the other T. talk to him mostly. Same at the photo op. "Hi, how are you?" is about all I could manage, not because my brain went fan jirl, but what I'd wanted to say had disappeared when the photographer asked if I'd wanted to remove my glasses. I had kept them on for an earlier photo op, so I decided to take them off this time. Big mistake. I couldn't see anything; the world was a blur - not that I didn't know it would be, but I hadn't expected Ben's face, literally inches from mine, would be a blur as well. "Am I that blind?" I thought, and then turned to look at the camera (which was really, really blurry) and the pic was taken. Who knows what kinda face I'd made at that point? I certainly wasn't thinking happy thoughts. :( Hm, guess the photo op wasn't so cool, but Ben definitely was. He even offered to wear them, but then we both would've been blind. :P

Anth mentioned a pool game (I was an observer - never played before, but T. was explaining the rules as I watched) from Saturday night, which was cool, too, when he sat at our table Sunday morning. That was kinda nice as I found out he likes pool, and that's something I hadn't known before. It also made it feel more like a "normal" conversation, which is what it should be. I was disappointed though that I couldn't hear most of what he'd said because T. was arguing next to me with a person behind me. :( Then during Anth's talk, which started late, I had to leave to for my photo op with Ben. Sure, I could've skipped it, especially since it's probably not going to come out anyway & since my brain shut down when I realized I couldn't actually see his face right next to me, but hindsight is 20/20 as the saying goes. Plus, I'd only seen Ben at the NY 2001 con before, and I really wanted to talk to him and let him know how nice I thought it was that he'd come out this way again. Not that I managed to accomplish that goal. :( But again, Anth was very friendly and cool.

Gigi was her sweet self as well and told us about her NYC excursion when she first arrived. She seemed very excited to have had the chance to visit NYC again, and that honestly, made me smile. The guests at these cons should have the opportunity to explore their surroundings and have fun on their off hours. No one can be "on" all the time. People need a break sometimes, and hey! when I'm in a new city, I want to explore it. Why should they not want to do the same thing?

One last random blathering before I head off to bed. There's a strange but rather cool bond among Farscape fans. We have varied backgrounds, opinions, etc., but we're tied together by our love of this show and our admiration for the people who put it all together. We're also tied together by a common "community" thread which is very hard for me to describe to people who aren't involved with other Scapers either online or off. I'm not really familiar with other fan experiences in science fiction. I don't know what it's like at most non-Farscape cons. I don't know whether non-Farscape cast or crew enjoy talking to *their* fans or if they find the whole thing bothersome. All I know is what I've experienced for myself in my little Farscape circle. Every moment of the guests' time given to us was given with a bit of love. I know people who aren't in the "fandom" have a hard time understanding that, but it's evident, to the rest of us, in all they do and in the extra effort to interact with the fans and to get to know us. It's appreciated by most of us us, though we may be too surprised to express it at the time. Yes, I said "surprised" .. Although it can't be said of all Scapers, many of us are a bit .. shy. It takes awhile to open up or warm up to a person we don't know well, and despite our seemingly vast knowledge of what a particular guest has said in a magazine or a talk or a chat, etc., we don't actually know that guest, only what they allow us to see. So, the casual nod of the head, the smile, the polite "how are you?" are all comforts to a shy person though some of us (and apparently, I'm in this category) have an inability to reply when the occasion arises.

Sure, others might argue that TPTB know that to respect the audience means the audience will keep coming back, but that only goes so far. There's a certain level of "intimacy" here, a certain level of trust on both ends, cast and fan. I honestly don't think they were truly aware of how much the show and how much their time and how much their work meant to all of us until they actually got the word that PKW was a go. I believe that now they understand that we weren't just paying lip service, and they're trying to give even more back to us (which is not necessary but welcomed by virtually everyone as the gift that it is). I'm happy that many more viewers have been introduced to the wonderful world that is Farscape, but I'm still hoping that the recognition (not for fan efforts but for Farscape's team efforts) that they deserve is coming. Good people, talented people, hardworking people should all be rewarded for their contributions on projects and in the world in general. I have yet to see the viewing public honor Farscape (and the people who tirelessly made the series come alive) the way I think it should be honored. Maybe that's just over the horizon. For now, the rest of us will love and cherish it for the unique, original production it was (and still is).

And well that's enough babbling on my part since it's now 1 in the morning, and I must be up in 5 hours to get myself together for work.

p.s. I already miss some of the people I'd hung out with this weekend. Wish the con had been longer so I could've talked to as many Scapers as much as I would've liked.