WorldCon (LACon IV): Day One

Hello from beautiful Anaheim, California at WorldCon (a.k.a. LACon IV). This is the first time in a while where I am at a Con as a spectator, rather than an active panelist. It's kinda cool knowing I don't have to be anywhere in particular. I can mill around, look at stuff, and meander down the halls talking to myself without someone saying, "Hey, you were that guy on the last panel that doesn't like BSG." The good news is that I did find the Whole Foods and they have a nice beer and sake selection.

Anaheim (around Disneyland) is as commercial as you can imagine. You may have watched Desperate Housewives of Orange County on Bravo, or MTV's Laguna Beach, or The O.C. Just so you know, it's not that part of Orange County. I'm so over it. Well on to the day...

The opening ceremonies were dominated by a full episode of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet complete with the old Corn Flakes adds. We've come a really long way with SF TV (last season's canceled shows don't count...I'm still bitter about the bait and switch that Surface pulled on me), but it was a nice look into the past. What caught me was the portrayal of an optimistic future -- what a concept!

The first panel I attended was entitled FUTURE TRENDS IN SCIENCE FICTION with James Patrick Kelly (Moderator), John-Henri Holmberg, Mark von Schlegell, Gary K. Wolfe, and Lou Anders. This debate has been going on for a while in the blogosphere, and I really hoped that the panel would come to some sort of concensus, but even though the topic was well covered, there was no cohesive resolution. The discussion covered a lot of the movements or sub-genres from the restrictive realm of Mundane SF, to Space Opera, Cyberpunk, and even Romance, believe it or not. Someone was recording the panel, so I hope it will be posted somewhere on the Net. From what I gathered from the debate, the Future of SF depends upon increasing readership, and that can only be done with works that are accessible, and moreover, positive in outlook. [Insert plug for my book Resurrection of Liberty here. Shameless, I know...] I've always said that SF is too brooding these days, which is why everyone runs to Fantasy for some sort of escapism. I enjoyed the hell out of this panel. All the speakers were articulate and very knowledgeable. The hour flew by quickly. I think there's enough to discuss on this topic that we all could have been there for days. In the end, I say just write awesome stories and people will read 'em. I did learn that the hardcover sales of a Hard SF novel average around 1,000 - 3,000 copies. That's not very much folks. Definitely not enough to cover many author's advances.

I was then supposed to go to the CHARACTER VS. PLOT panel, but instead found  JAMES T. KIRK: THREAT OR MENACE with Richard Arnold (Moderator), D.C. Fontana, Lance Sibley, Bridget Landry, and Chris M. Barkley. I got to meet D.C. Fontana! I've idolized her for years. This panel was just plain fun. To summarize: James T. Kirk was a product of the 60s just as Jean Luc Picard was a product of the 80s. Not only were they reflective of the audiences of the time, but they also showed a maturing Federation of Planets. In Kirk's day, the Federation was still growing. It took a maverick and risk taker to get the job done. In Picard's time, the Federation had reached it's limit and instead had to co-exist with other races and empires. The panelists were fun, informative, and had all types of tidbits that made me miss the days of Gene Roddenberry. Again, we ended reflecting on the yearning for a positive vision of the future -- Gene's Vision.

STAR TREK MOVIE NEWS: Yes, the panel dished about the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek film. I found out that Rick Berman will not be involved in this project as his contract is up at the end of this year. As part of Abram's deal with Paramount, J.J. insisted that one of his projects be a Star Trek movie. (Ready to give LOST a try now?) The studio had to scramble because they dumped all the ST stuff off to Christie's to sell at auction. As of now, despite the teaser poster, there is no production number, meaning no money assigned to order even paper to duplicate the non-existent script. Well, you know how Hollywood rumors go.

Comments

[Lance Sibley]

I'm glad you had a good time at the "James T. Kirk - Threat Or Menace" panel. I was worried about making myself look like an idiot in front of D.C. Fontana (not so much Richard Arnold, since I'd previously met him when he was a GoH at Gaylaxicon in June :) ).

Believe it or not, this panel was my first-ever experience as a panelist at a Worldcon. I had a great time.

[Michael L. Wentz]

Lance, you did great! I really enjoyed your comments. Overall it was one of the most enjoyable panels I attended.

It also was the first time I had the opportunity to meet Dorothy Fontana. I've been a fan of her work for years. She truly is one of the great storytellers of science fiction.