Fal Tor Pan

Star Trek Convention
Name:	Fal Tor Pan
Dates:	February 26-28, 1999
Frequency:
Location:	Birmingham, England at the Britannia Hotel
Type:	fan-run
Focus:	Star Trek
Organization:
Founder:	Maggy Edwards
Founding Date:
URL:
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Fal Tor Pan was a Star Trek con held in Birmingham, England.

The title of the convention is a reference to the Vulcan ritual fal-tor-pan, used in Star Trek III to reunite Spock's soul with his body.

Reactions and Reviews

Fal Tor Pan was an Original Trek convention held in Birmingham over the weekend of 26th February 1999. It was really small; I'm not sure exactly how many fans attended but it was certainly under a hundred. There were no guests. The whole convention fitted neatly onto one floor in the hotel. There was no disco. So why, you may ask, was it so hugely enjoyable? Well, for a start, the convention went where most cons don't go nowadays — into the archives of Classic Trek. The video programme showed lots of episodes and all the CT films, as you might expect, but also interviews with the cast from many sources, and episodes of other series in which they appeared. There were videos of cons in the States, out-takes, and some film footage of musical episodes in the lives of Leonard Nimoy and Bill Shatner which the pair would probably prefer to forget. There was Alexander the Great, which I've always wanted to see. In short, it was a video feast for a Classic Trek fan who discovered cons after the birth of TNG and who therefore hasn't been to one where the programme favoured the Original series. I am not saying that I don't enjoy other cons. I do. I'm up to date with Voyager and DS9 and have most of the TNG videos. But Fal Tor Pan was a little different and a bit special. The dealers' room was small but a delight for someone who collects Classic zines; for once I went home with a bag full to read. I renewed acquaintances with fans whom I see at other cons, and met people that I have never seen at a con before. The weekend was incredibly relaxing; a lot of time was spent simply chatting to people. There was an auction and some real bargains to be had. The con raised money for charity but I don't know what the final amount was. Not everyone at the con was an OS fan; there were those who had come with friends yet there was a strong sense that they were enjoying themselves as much as the rest of us. Perhaps there is a message here for con organisers; as well as showing the latest Voyager and DS9, perhaps there is an audience out there not just for the Classic episodes, but also for the Classic archive material, an audience who may be interested in seeing how it all started, an audience of Classic fans who didn't come to Birmingham and who, like me, have never seen much of this film footage which I am now officially dubbing 'archive' material.