MediaWest*Con/MediaWest*Con 1992

MediaWest*Con 1981 · MediaWest*Con 1982 · MediaWest*Con 1983 · MediaWest*Con 1984 · MediaWest*Con 1985 · MediaWest*Con 1986 · MediaWest*Con 1987 · MediaWest*Con 1988 · MediaWest*Con 1989 · MediaWest*Con 1990 · MediaWest*Con 1991 · MediaWest*Con 1992 · MediaWest*Con 1993 · MediaWest*Con 1994 · MediaWest*Con 1995 · MediaWest*Con 1996 · MediaWest*Con 1997 · MediaWest*Con 1998 · MediaWest*Con 1999 · MediaWest*Con 2000 · MediaWest*Con 2001 · MediaWest*Con 2002 · MediaWest*Con 2003 · MediaWest*Con 2004 · MediaWest*Con 2005 · MediaWest*Con 2006 · MediaWest*Con 2007 · MediaWest*Con 2008 · MediaWest*Con 2009 · MediaWest*Con 2010 · MediaWest*Con 2011 · MediaWest*Con 2012 · MediaWest*Con 2013 · MediaWest*Con 2014 · MediaWest*Con 2015 · MediaWest*Con 2016 · MediaWest*Con 2017 · MediaWest*Con 2018 · MediaWest*Con 2019 · MediaWest*Con 2020

Convention
Name:	MediaWest*Con 1992
Dates:	May 22-25, 1992
Frequency:
Location:	Lansing, Michigan
Type:
Focus:	multi-fandom
Organization:
Founder:
Founding Date:
URL:	the convention theme that year Beyond the Holidome was a reference to the 1991 problems with the hotel .
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

front page of the 1992 program book

page 1 of a flyer

page 2 of a flyer

Some Facts About the 1992 Convention

• The theme that year: "Beyond the Holidome." It was based on the fact that the previous hotel, The Lansing Holiday Inn West, failed to honor their contractual obligation to provide "all function space" to MediaWest*Con by double-booking two weddings in the main ballrooms. The convention was forced to hold a banquet and the Masquerade in the humidity of the "Holidome" pool area.
• MediaWest*Con moved to its new location at the Lansing Holiday Inn South/Convention Center.

• The first Stiffie awards were handed out before night before the convention started. The awards were partially in response to slash fans feeling marginalized in the FanQ awards.
• J. Michael Straczynski was one of the five fans on the panel: "Computers: reach out and touch a fan - bulletin board systems," as well as the Ghostbusters panel.

• A fan comments on the tensions and excitement leading up to this con, and about unrelated controversy a few days before, see Cover Up and the comments on plagiarism.

• See a call to arms by a fan addressing the conflicts and tensions regarding slash and gen vid programing, see Media West, Fan Q's and slash fans by Flamingo (1993)

From the 1992 Program Book

About the programming:

Comments, praise & criticism are all solicited. We apologize for any misunderstandings as to how to get a panel scheduled. If nothing else, if a proposed panel is multi-media, it must be coordinated with both Darlene for programming, and David Grono for use of video room and slide show facilities. We understand that the video panel and presentation on Babylon 5 may or may not occur, due to unintentional communication difficulties. This is one reason it is important to get your programming requests in early, and provide our staffers with your phone number! Please remember as well that we deliberately leave empty function space available for "unscheduled" presentations ~ just clear use of the room with [Darlene F] first, and then post notices in the designated areas. Darlene can also arrange for information on programming additions, deletions, or otherwise notable changes to appear

on the closed-circuit television monitors throughout the hotel. Videos can be scheduled in either the Fannish Video area (Executive Training Room) or Video Room (Imperial Room) during "free" time ~ check with Shetyl Adsit for the former, and David Grono on the latter.

About behavior:

Anyone found carrying an illegal substance or weapon, acting in an unruly or obnoxious manner, or otherwise causing a disturbance will have their membership revoked without refund, and be denied admittance for the duration of the convention. The membership of anyone found "sharing" a badge with a non-member for the purpose of

admittance will likewise be revoked without refund, and both parties will be denied membership to future MediaWest*Cons.

About the dogs:

Pets are not allowed in the Art Show, Dealers Room (except those belonging to Dealers), and the hotel -restaurant. Pets left in hotel rooms should be secured in crates, carriers, or other appropriate containers. Pets should be on leashes or under similar restraint in convention areas. Pets who become upset or unmanagable [sic] hould be removed. Please keep pets toward the back, right-hand side of audience seating at all panels, etc.. See the map elsewhere in the Program Book for designated dog-walk areas. Please pick up after your dog with the tools provided in these areas. Emergency clean-up materials will be available at MediaWest*Con registration, in case of accidents.

Fan Q Awards

For specifics, see 1992 Fan Q Awards.

Skit

Both plays were presented before the Masquerade and Dance. They were also carried on the hotels closed circuit TV

Star Trek: The Motion Sickness, by Ken Keisel & Bev Grant, featured the following cast: Paula Smith, Martynn, Elyse Dickenson, Cathie Whitehead, Ken Keisel, Gordon Carleton, Dawna Snyder, Linnese Dawe, Nancy Hillman, Doug Carleton, and Dawn McLevy.

JTK (Star Trek VI, as directed by Oliver Stone), "was written Gordon Carleton in an incredible one day (give or take a revision)!" Cast: Gordon Carleton, Ken Keisel, Melody Womack, Martynn, Nancy Hillman, Dawna Snyder, Pat Gonzales, Paula Smith, Winston Howlett, Terri Korthals, Cathie Whitehead, and Pam Berry.

Fan Fund

The winner of the 1992 Fan Fund was Rolaine Smoot; she attended MediaWest*Con 12.

Masquerade Winners

MASQUERADE COSTUME COMPETITION/DANCE Masquerade Winners

• Best Original Presentation - "The Banshee" -- Valeria Meachum
• Best Re-Creation (TV-Film) - "Belle's Boy" -- Nea Dodson
• Best Re-Creation (Literature) - "Morpheus, Lord of Dreams" -- Melody Womack
• Best Humourous - "Ernest Borg Nine" -- Dan Kozinski
• Best Cheap - "Lori and Gizmo" -- Betsy Wood and Tab
• Best In Show - "Christine's Debut" -- Janet Paderewski
• Best Workmanship - "Lena Lamont" -- Rosemary Slocum

Hall Costume Winners:

• "Edward Scissorhands" -- Melody Womack
• "the Sea" -- Cindi Ufholz
• "Shonnon" -- Jesse McClain
• "Christine" -- June Edwards
• "The Phantom" -- Angelamarie Varesano
• "Christine" -- Janet Paderewski

Door Decoration Awards

From the post-1992/pre-1993 Progress report:

Door Decorating Contest

The folks at Otter Limits Press reported the following winners:

Best_of Show

• Musical Phantom, Rm. 324 (Jennifer B)

Fantasy/SF

• 1st: Musical Phantom, Rm. 324 (Jennifer B)
• 2nd: The Dragon, Rm. 471
• 3rd: Phantom In The Mirror, Rm. 369

Enforcement/Cop/Spy

• 1st: Patriot Games, Rm. 458 (Nora M)
• 2nd: U.N.CL.E./Equalizer/Dragon, Rm. 548
• 3rd: Pros a la Andy Warhol, Rm. 536

Manga/Japanimne

• No entries

Other

• 1st: Rock & Roll Door, Rm. 321 (Steffey & Kolar)
• 2nd: Mix and Match, Rm. 512
• 3rd: Bizarre Bazaar Triptich, Rms. 561-565

The folks from Rooms 324 and 321 have a S10 prize and certificate coming, and the folks from Room 512 have a $5 prize and certificate.

Art Show Awards

A fan recalls that the highest piece of art was a portrait that sold for $400. Art show winners were selected by popular vote.

POPULAR CHOICE ART SHOW AWARD WINNERS

• Star Trek - "25 Years of Star Trek: Live Long and Prosper," Joni Wagner
• Star Wars - "Coy Princess," Joni Wagner
• Quantum Leap - "Certain Majick," Barbara Fister-Liltz
• Professionals - "Dualities," Suzan Lovett
• McGyver - "Mister Mac" Karen River
• U.N.C.L.E. - "Jigsaw" Suzan Lovett
• Blake's 7 - "Different Seasons," Suzan Lovett

• Humor - "Boundage," Leah Rosenthal
• Fabric - "Robert Vaughn," Carol Jones
• 3-D - "Alpha or Omega," Suzanne Rosema
• Horse - "Unicorn Appaloosa," Heather Bruton
• Cat - "Can I Go HOme With YOu?" Jesse McClain (also winner by unanimous decision of the art show staff of the terminally cute award)
• Dragon - "Lane," Susan Conner

BEST IN SHOW (tie)

• "Always Remember the Name -- Enterprise" Jesse McClain
• "Dualities," Suzan Lovett

Honorable Mentions

• "Two Joneses," M. Holmes
• "Northern Lights," B. Fister-Liltz
• "Lake Night Problem," S. Schrieber

Vid Show

We are looking for any info on the pre-1998 vid show winners. In the 1992 Post-con Progress Report, under the heading of Fannish Videos it only says: "We did not received a post-con report from Coordinator Sheryl Adsit."

Here are a few of the vids that were shown that year

• "Hotel California" for The Prisoner by Judy Chien
• "Wicked Game" for Twin Peaks by Judy Chien
• The Addams Family Theme" for Twin Peaks by Judy Chien (this vid won a prize)
• Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends Theme" for Quantum Leap based on Al's interaction with Beth from "M.I.A." (vidder unknown but it may have been one of the member of Bunnies From Hell)

The vid room ran nearly constantly due to California Crew doing up eight hours of "best of" tapes. The tapes' playlist and order was posted on the door, making it easier to figure out when your favorite video would play.

Programming

There was a Starsky & Hutch panel on Sunday morning -- panelists were April Valentine, Linda Magee, Pat Massie and MRK

Cheree Cargill, Melea Fisher, Pat Grant, Judith Yuenger held a Star Wars panel: "Unifying Star Wars Fandom". A transcript of the panel was reprinted in Southern Enclave #32. The panelists explained that the idea for the panel came after "We discovered that there were still lots and lots and lots of STAR WARS fans out there but we were all broken up into little groups. And nobody knew about anybody else, so we decided we would try to get us all together in one big group again and have lots of fun and I think we've been fairly successful over the past year."

Friday

• Smut: Hi guy, new in town? Or, why can't two male characters stand together for longer than 10 seconds without someone writing them into a "slash" relationship?
• Collaborative writing; how to put aside your egos for the sake of the story.
• Ladyhawke: starcrossed lovers? The enduring appeal.
• Introducing Shadowchasers.
• Introducing Quantum Leap.
• Religion throughout history; spiritual guidance or mind control?
• Different strokes for different blokes; are government agents the same the world over?
• 50's-60's sci-fi; from The Blob To War of the Worlds-has any modem sci-fi even come dose to these classics.
• Beauty and the Beast; Vincent & Catherine-romantic archetypes?
• Editing; first you pick up your blue pencil-basic tips and reference books to get you started.
• Extraterrestrials; UFO abductions-hoax or cover up?
• Zorro; the changing face of Don Diego-Douglas Fairbanks to Duncan Regehr.
• Anne McCaffrey: building a believable society - Pern as an example of historical continuity.
• Multiple vs. one-fandom fen; dueling fandoms - boxing yourself in or spreading yourself too thin?
• Michael Crawford; the man behind the mask-bringing the 'Phantom' to life.
• Northern Exposure; cold hands, warm heart-romantic relationships from Adam & Eve to Holling & Shelley. Oh yes, and Joel & Maggie.
• Star Trek: life behind the command chair - are Troi, Geordi, et al getting better storylines than the ones Uhura. Chekov et al had to deal with?
• Military: if we didn't laugh we'd cry - comedy in the face of war.
• The Miscellaneous Affairs of Adderly panel.
• Animation: Dangermouse - crossing over into fanfic: the key to their popularity.
• Dinosaurs: we're the panel, gotta love us! - cutesy kiddie show or relevant social commentary?
• Vampires: party all night, sleep all day and stay young forever - the appeal of vampires.
• Quantum Leap: whose body is in anyway? Just exactly where is Sam during the leap? Problems in explaining the process.
• Mel Gibson: from Tim to Hamlet - the son we all wish we had!
• Harrison Ford: from adventurer to spy-Ford's transition.
• Writing original characters: avoiding the Mary Sue Syndrome and other common ailments.
• Disabilities in fandom: American Sign Language - you wont get fluent in an hour, but you can learn the basics.
• Introducing Star Cops.
• Introducing The Professionals.
• The Remington Steele 10th Anniversary panel.
• Costuming: the Performance Workshop-how to present yourself in a costume call.
• Alien Nation: Tenctonese culture - would you shop in 'Little Tencton'?
• Have you seen...? What films/series/hovels generate fandoms and why?
• Government agents: spies in the 90's-where would they fit into today's changing political scene?
• Actors vs. their characters: confusing an actor with the character he portrays-to love him is to know him. Or is it?
• Spaceships of movies and tv: from Buck Rogers serials to the Enterprise NCC1701-D-technology marches on.
• Introducing Q.E.D.
• Introducing Starman.
• Shadow Chasers: cynicism is no protection, buddy.
• Sean Connery: a grand master-still sexy after all these years.
• Conventions: 'professional' cons - giving us what we want or taking us to the cleaners?
• Star Trek: families aboard the Enterprise-welcome addition or worrisome distraction?
• Quantum Leap: thirtysomething and trapped in a time warp-the effects of Sam altering his own timeline.
• The Professionals: is a non-'slash' fandom viable, given the introduction many American fans had?
• Men in fandom
• Introducing Alien Nation
• Introducing Sapphire & Steele
• Filking: original tunes, parodies, and what to do if you cant carry a tune in a bucket.
• Fandom: primer for neos - where did all you people come from, and how did you find each other? An introduction to fandom.
• Richard Grieco: from Booker to Mobsters, from the small screen to the big screen-can he make the transition?
• Questor Tapes: predating Data, or, but would you let your sister/brother marry one?
• Fandom Is A Way Of Life vs. Fandom Is Just A Goshdarn Hobby: is fandom a sub-culture or just another distraction?
• Publishing: from computers to laser printers and beyond-the future of fanzine publishing.
• Media Jeopardy
• Introducing Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Introducing Dark Shadows
• Equalizer: if you need help, call this panel-can we get past the 'vigilante' image?
• Costuming: from concept to presentation-the art of original costuming.
• Black Adder Panel
• Let's Discuss: Lethal Weapon.
• Man from U.N.C.L.E.: the 29 years young affair - what happened in the intervening years?
• Art: computer graphics-fan art of the future?
• Introducing Remington Steele.
• Introducing Sandbaggers.
• Animation: not just for Saturday morning anymore - the resurgence of primetime animated series: is fandom ready for this?
• The Professionals: Bodie's past and Doyle's guilt - can we get past the stereotypes?
• Friday the 13th: Is there anything left to do after you've cursed a dog leash?

• Red Dwarf: a giant among sci-fi comedy.
• Introducing 21 Jump Street.
• Introducing Houston Knights.
• Legends, faerie tales & mythology: expanding the legends-does media preserve the intended spirit?
• Publishing: fantastic fanzine fliers - the 'first impression' that sells your zine.
• Let's Discuss: Indiana Jones.
• Blake's 7 vs. Star Trek: the ultimate crossover? Is it possible that Star Trek's Federation of Planets later becomes 'The Federation' in Blake's 7?
• Military: keeping the world safe for democracy - how did the WWII series compare with the real war?
• Gay Issues: I'm not gay. I just happen to have sex with my partner who is also a man, and other common fallacies in 'slash' relationships.
• V: Kenneth Johnson's version of War of the Worlds?
• Vampires: menacing predator or misunderstood victim? Exploring the vampire myth through film, television and literature.

Saturday

• Alien Nation: Matt Sikes - is he going to be a better Godfather than he was a daddy?
• Quantum Leap: keeping it fresh ~ are all the leaps starting to look the same?
• Edward Scissorhands: a shear delight - Edward as the child within us all.
• Introducing Darkover.
• Sapphire & Steele: are we really inhuman, or just pretending?
• Blake's 7: Blake vs. Avon and their different leadership styles - was one more effective for completion of their mission?
• Writing crossovers: pick a universe, any universe.
• Gay issues: coming out of the closet-'gay' films that (at least semi-) successfully attracted mainstream audiences.
• Introducing War of the Worlds
• Costuming workshop: make-up for costuming.
• Star Trek: expanding the universe - is there room in the fandom for Deep Space Nine?
• Actors vs. their characters: tearing down the wall - does meeting the star alter your view of the fandom?
• Writing good medicine: excuse me, but your hero's been dead for the last 5 pages!
• Art: Illustrating: more than just copying a photo - making the characters match the action.
• Introducing Blake's 7.
• Young Riders: galloping off into the sunset - the appeal of the series.
• Beauty and the Beast: turning third season into an alternate universe - can we make it go away?
• Smut: so he only had a walk-on part - didn't you see the gleam in his eye? Or why we love to put those men together. Slash as a fandom itself.
• Publishing: design and layout - from page size through binding: some decisions to be made.
• Darkwing Duck: Let's get dangerous!
• Introducing Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• ST:TNG: writers seminar summary.
• Costuming: bringing it to life - recreating a filmed or drawn character.
• The Gaylactic Network: gays in science fiction.
• ST:TNG: how's fifth season going?
• Editing: Recognizing the symbiotic relationship between writers and editors-using etiquette to keep authors coming back without compromising your zine.
• Art: now what? Getting started when you haven't drawn since grade school.
• Introducing Anne Rice.
• Introducing Paradise.
• Writing seminar: how to tell a better story.
• : Burnside vs. D. Ops.: characters vs. situations In The Sandbaggers.
• Star Trek VI: : Is this really the end for Kirk and crew?
• Media Family Feud.
• Introducing Beauty & the Beast.
• Introducing Bottom of the Sea.
• Writing workshop I: giving your fan fiction that professional touch.
• 'Good guy' vampires.
• Buddy shows: 'nutty' buddy - why is one partner always a goofball?
• Art: matting/framing - now that you've finished (or bought) your piece of art, how do you preserve it?
• Introducing Dark Justice.
• Introducing Corellian Archives zine library.
• Kenneth Branagh: Olivier again? Will Branagh be the next 'Lord Larry'?
• Star Wars: uniting Star Wars fandom.
• Publishing: I'd like to do a zine, but I only have a limited budget - producing a quality zine with only a Smith Corona and a prayer.
• Miami Vice panel.
• Theatre: musicals with something special.
• Doctor Who: the Doctor-Companion bond - could one survive without the other?
• Writing realistic sex scenes: he put his what where?! Getting the details right.
• Comic books-graphic novels: comic books in fandom-can we take these cartoon characters seriously?
• The New Dark Shadows - did it continue the legacy or splinter the fandom?
• Alien Nation: why is no one writing the fanfic?
• Art: problems unique to Illustrating adult/slash material.
• Fandom as a support group: doing more than drooling over 8x10's - or. just what is it you people talk about all day?
• The science in science fiction: "reverse to polarity of the neutron flow" and other scientific impossibilities.
• Writing and the importance of the rewrite.
• A look at the National Science Fiction & Fantasy Museum.
• Religion as taboo: why aren't any fanfic characters ever given religious preferences?
• Copyrights: from copying for friends to bootlegging - what exactly can an editor expect?
• Paranormal: Esp. for me ~ E.S.P. in media.
• The Q.E.D. panel.
• Kicking the Corpse: the rumors of Star Wars fandom's death have been greatly exaggerated.
• Let's Discuss: Battlestar Galactica.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: life, don't talk to me about life!
• Spoofs & satire: pardon me, but is that your shoe ringing? Satire as a political statement.

Sunday

• The changing face of fandom: 1970 to present-have we come a long way, baby?
• Stephen J. Cannell series; what's really going on? Is it more than just car chases and catchy music?
• Starsky & Hutch as a dormant fandom. Is there anything more to be said?
• Music videos: stop the car I need those lyrics! Putting our favorite fandoms to music.
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: 'sub'mission; bringing Seaview hardware up to date. Or, more than just "monster of the week".
• Beauty & the Beast: the series vs. the animated feature - which one truly captured the legend?
• The "sick puppy" panel; prelude to "the dead dog panel - how's the con going so far?
• Blake's 7: the next generation - do we really want to see the series 10 years after?
• Art; "material girl" - creative uses for fabric.
• Holy Hamlet, Batman I; comic books and graphic novels as serious art and literature.
• Editors need writers & writers need editors.
• Disabilities in fandom.
• The 21 Jump Street panel.
• Writing Quantum Leap; It's more than just a hunk in a dress.
• Why do zines cost so much? A look into what it costs to put out a good zine.
• Art; the deadline's approaching and I promised 10 illoes - where do I start? Finding the inspiration and models you need to get going - researching artwork.
• Creating your own religion.
• Star Trek: how much innovation can Pocket Books allow? Writing an original idea within restrictive parameters.
• Computers: reach out and touch a fan-bulletin board systems. (J. Michael Straczynski was one of the five fans on this panel.)
• Writing: strategies for interactive science fiction/fantasy writing in the age of high tech and hard times.
• Smut: lubricants, those pesky wives and other impediments to slash.
• P.I. shows: bending the rules - could these people really get away with some of the stuff they did?
• Writing research: let's get real - making your readers believe you.
• Quantum Leap: does this show have any rules It wont break?
• Going pro: tips and tales from a few of the fans who successfully crossed the bridge into "professional writing.
• MacGyver: dubious science - does it need to make sense?
• Junior, is that you? The Young Indiana Jones panel.
• Editing: recognizing the symbiotic relationship between writers and editors - using etiquette to keep authors coming back without compromising your zine.
• Media Wheel of Fortune.
• Sherlock Holmes: the timeless appeal of a timeless character.
• Advanced (2 or more stories published) writer's seminar: refining your craft.
• We have lift off!: re-introducing THE SCI-FI CHANNEL.
• New age and paganism: coming full circle - the resurgence of age-old rituals in modern times: taking a holistic approach to the world around us.
• Kirk's charisma vs. PIcard's diplomacy: has the Federation matured or wimped out?
• From computers to laser printers and beyond; the future of fanzine publishing.
• Phantom of the Opera: romantic hero or threat from below? Has Andrew Lloyd Weber changed the way we feel about the classic legend?
• Callahan's Saloon: Punday nights at Callahan's - a scene like you've never seen before: a punster's paradise.
• Writing workshop II: giving your adult fan fiction that professional touch.
• Buddy shows: sidekicks - where would our hero be without his second banana?
• Star Wars: an inevitable disappointment? Working within an established fandom.
• Time travel: from tardis to imaging chamber, no matter how you do it, getting there is half the fun. How do they differ and which mode of travel is most scientifically correct?
• Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostbusters.
• Classics vs. remakes: can you top this? Is older always better of newer always improved?
• A Gene Roddenberry Buddhist memorial ceremony. Open to all con members.
• Writing: finding and working with an editor.
• Darkover panel.
• Buddy shows: oil and water-can partners from two different worlds build a trusting relationship?
• Writing crossovers: what makes them good or better.
• Will the real Robin Hood please stand up? Which recent incarnation best matches the legend?
• Massage demonstration and workshop: learning not to rub people the wrong way.
• Feminism in fandom: goodbye Donna Reed, hello Sara Conner - have strong female characters finally come of age?
• Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, and other sci-fi series of the 50's-60's: it crawled out of the woodwork.
• Introducing Michael Crawford: a discussion group and social by members of the Michael Crawford International Fan Association.
• Quantum Leap: : crisis management -- Al's role in Quantum Leap.
• Writing realistic sex scenes: how do you get that throbbing tower out of your sheets? Preserving the mood to write.
• "Guilty pleasures": do your friends know you watch those shows? Is there a place in fandom for soaps, tabloid television and reams of "My Mother, The Car"?
• Loners: the independent hero - is part of the appeal the fact that we'd love to team up with him?
• Twin Peaks: David Lynch's vision - through a glass darkly.
• Buddy shows: he said, she said-can men and women work together without sleeping together?
• Star Cops: believable science fiction or space opera?
• Fandom vs. the 'reel' world: picking up the pieces, or what can you do when the powers-that-be destroy your fandom?

Monday

• Alien: in space, no one can hear this panel - is it more than just a horror film?
• Anne McCaffrey: ; not just dragons and wherries- the rest of McCaffrey.
• Blake's 7: : Blake and his rebels, terrorists or freedom fighters?
• Smut: the psychology of S&M ~ beyohd leather and chains.
• Anne Rice: the best vampires in town - Rice's vs. other "contemporary" vampires.
• Conventions: more than just "holding" a con - the key elements in "organizing" one
• The annual "dead dog" panel - how'd we do at the new hotel, and other stuff - The Con Committee.
• War of the Worlds: can good characters triumph over poor scripts?
• Feminism in fandom: is there a place in fan fiction for strong female characters?
• Media spies in the 90's: where would they fit into today's changing political scene?
• From Masterpiece Theatre to Benny Hill: is British television better than American tv?
• From Japanimation to Disney: animation in the 90's.

Convention Reports

Speaking of the con, how did everyone like MediaWest? Did everyone like the new hotel? At first, I found the layout confusing, but once I got used to it, I felt the hotel was just perfect for the con. As for the rest of MediaWest-it was one of the best cons I have ever attended. The highlights for me were all the different SW panels, parties, and, most of all, meeting other SW fans. My reactions/impressions were: what a great group of people! If the goal at MediaWest was to unite SW fandom, I'd say with the genuine and positive attitudes everyone displayed, SW fandom is well on its way to achieve it! Personally, I felt totally welcomes to the fandom ranks. Thank you all."

You can consider this the Completely Unofficial Dinosaur of Fandom Review of MediaWest*Con 12. It boggles the mind to realize that this was my tenth MediaWest, especially when I think of all the things in my life that can be directly attributed to my participation in fandom. Friends met and made, ideas conceived and debated, zines proposed am published- and all of it thanks to that great melting pot of media fan gumbo, MediaWest*Con!

Back prior to May of 1983, I was a typical "closet fan" of sf and media fiction, completely unaware of what was out there on an organized basis. Although as a Star Trek fan I realized there were other people like me who had written their own 'Trek stories for their own amusement, I had no idea SW fans and fans of other genres were also doing the sane thing and on such a grand scale. The first SW zine I countered was Empire Review put out by Ty Barrett. I submitted some stories, and she told me about MediaWest*Con 3. "You've got to go," she told me. "They have hundreds of zines there." Hundreds of zines? I haven't even gotten over the notion of fanzines in the first place, much less hundreds of them! And so I went, and found myself in the middle of a fan's greatest "fool's paradise" (remember, this was the year ROTJ came out) and the rest has been history.

At MWC 3, I met people like Sharon Saye and Samia Martz who become my good friends, as well as some of the "Big Name Fans" who had before only been names in zines to me. What an overload experience! I don't know how much I spent on zines that first year, but I can tell you I'll never forget how much I spent on art. (Must have been some of those "Jedi mind tricks... ")

The yearly trek to Lansing became a Memorial Day tradition for me, a chance to renew friendships, pursue new interests, buy and sell zines, and generally just cut loose and act crazy with a bunch of like-minded people. We survived great fannish debates like the "Church of Ford v. the Cathedral of Luke", disappointments like the cancellation of Alien Nation, and the sheer fun of movies like Last Crusade. Story ideas flew like confetti (some of those stories actually got written!) and, if the jokes, sometimes got a little tacky--well, where else could we have gone to really let our hair down once a year? Over the years, fandom has changed and shaped my life. The experience I gained in editing and publishing a zine helped me make the decision to change careers in midstream, and the support from my fannish friends has helped me through difficult times, like losing both of my parents. Willing to help put something back into the con which had given me so much, I've done stints at MediaWest in organization, registration, and the art auction. One memorable year (1990), I even did all the programming (and once was enough!). Next year will probably see me back at the art auction again, as well as involved in the FanQs (since I no longer publish a zine). It was especially gratifying at MWC 12 to see the advent of the Star Awards. Many thanks to Judith Yaeger and Cheree and everyone else who did all of the work and put on a delightful luncheon/presentation ceremony. Ya done good, guys! SW fandom is not only not dead, it doesn't even look especially sick anymore.

Congratulations to all of the winners, and I know we will see even more nominees and fiercer competition next year. Don't forget to write Dar F with your ideas for SW programming while you're at it; she needs your ideas and more importantly your willingness to be on these panels to be able to schedule them. And don't forget the Fan Q's when you're thinking of SW zines, writers, artists, etc. There's no reason why SW can't regain its footing in the Fan Q's as well as maintaining the Star Awards.

And I want to add a special "hi" to Z.P. Florian. After all these years of wheedling art out of you, it was a delight to finally meet you! All this, and a fellow Sean Connery fan as well! I'm sure there are lots of other "dinosaurs" out there who could tell stories pretty similar to mine. Fandom may not be a way of life, but it's certainly been more than a hobby. When I think of all the fandoms I've been involved with over the years, SW is the only one I've kept coming back to again and again...So, if this is a "rebirth" of SW fandom, I'm glad and proud to be there for the delivery. Looking forward to seeing everyone again at MediaWest*Con 13.

I hope everyone who went had a good time. I sure did. And there were new SW zines to be had-amazing! A new Tremor, a new Dagobah, Bright Center. Gimme, gimme, gimme! I liked the new hotel although it wasn't without its flaws. It was wonderful to have such a huge dealers' room. Even if it was the same number of sellers, having them in one room was a thrill. I was glad to see several SW panels (instead of a lone panel as in years past) and a renewed interest. My Obi-Wan costume got several favorable comments in the halls. I missed seeing any of the folks who do Vader-did I just miss out or weren't costumes as evident this year? I loved seeing Melea Fisher's Leia but never saw Mark Fisher's Luke. Come on folks, let's get those costumes on! The STAR aWARdS ceremony was fun and the awards themselves were lovely. The art on the certificate would make great name badges. Can't wait to see what Judith has cooked up for next year...".

The hotel was very nice-actually much bigger than the old one. The staff were, at first, a little overwhelmed by the volume of people. Service in the hotel restaurant was slow! Outside of the restaurant, they did try very hard to please everyone. I talked to a lot of the staff and they were having a ball-guess several of then stayed after work to watch the goings on.

The dealer's room was a delight! Very large so that they had plenty of room to make aisles between the tables wide enough so that you weren't constantly crushed. At the other hotel, they had all the first floor rooms for people dealing out of their rooms which was very convenient. They didn't have this here and I missed it. There were people dealing out of their rooms, but they were scattered allover the place. It seemed to me that there weren't as many of than as there were last year, although my mind may be playing tricks because I bought 52 zines last year and 45 this year, so there must have been plenty of places to buy zines!

All of the rooms for the panels and meets were very large and well ventilated. Last year, Forces of the Empire meetings (and most of the SW stuff) were held in a small airless room. Forces of the Empire rented a series of rooms that were just across from the hotel registration desk that was just great for their needs. They had a room which had sofas and a bar and that was the cantina. They had several other rooms off that which they used for a silent auction and the Rebel Breakfast. The blaster battle was great (I sat in the hall smoking and watching since a lot of it seemed to be outside my room). They had to quit because a guy down the hall complained because he was selling out of his room (and half the hallway). Seems he was worried about the stuff he had in the hallway.

The art auction was nice, although I don't think that they had as much nice stuff as they did last year. Still don't like their system much. There were a couple of things that I would have liked to have bid on but, with their rule of anything with more than 1 bid going to auction, I wouldn't bid on than because I don't want to spend my evening sitting at the auction. It just takes too darned long.

The masquerade was okay. One of the neatest costumes was a guy who had made a Borg costume complete with sounds and a speaker that allowed his voice to sound inhuman. Most of the best costumes that I saw weren't in the masquerade. One lady had a beautiful replica of a Victorian costume complete with parasol and hat and button boots. It was really beautiful!

Now to the best part! The Star aWARdS. I did the announcing in the Corellian costume I had made. When we played the music from the ceremony in SW and Melea Fisher (as Princess Leia) and Pat Grant (as an Imperial) marched in and up to where I was. We started with the 1990 awards. Since the winners had previously been announced, there were no surprises. Of course, the fun part of all this is that the audience really got into this and were making all sorts of comments. The last awards that were given for 1990 were to the three groups/clubs Southern Enclave, Forces of the Empire, and Sons and Daughters of the Force. Pat was giving out the certificates and Melea was putting the medals around their necks. Of course, it was really funny when Melea put the medal around Pat's neck (for Forces of the Empire) and the audience went wild saying it was history in the making. Probably the only time that Princess Leia 'would give a medal to an Imperial! And, with that, Princess Leia tried to strangle the Imperial with the medal!

There was much anticipation for the 1991 awards, as no one but Arwen Rosenbaum (who printed the certificates) and I knew who the winners were! It was sort of like Oscar night! From the list, I pretty much knew who was there and who wasn 't. There were two winners at the con who didn't attend the ceremony and I tried hard to get them to cane without coming right out and saying they had won an award! Melea won a medal for cover artist and Pat put the medal on her or at least tried to- but her [Princess Leia hair] buns kept getting in the way! Everyone had a super tine and half a dozen or so people came up to me and asked if I was going to make this a yearly thing! I went into the dealer's room after the banquet to give Kathy Agel and Pat Nussman their awards. Someone had already told Kathy and she nearly jumped over the table to hug me! Pat wasn't there but I gave her medal to her friend. It was nice to see the certificates adorning the tables of those who won and everyone wore their medals for the rest of the day.

Catherine Churko had said to me in a letter, "A good ritual is a tonic for the mind and spirit," and believe me, it was! I am hoping that it will give SW a shot in the arm and, of course, I hope that it will boot more people in the butt to vote for the 1992 awards!"

MediaWest turned out quite well this year, I think. Things went better than I would have thought possible with a hotel that never had to deal with us before. I like having twice the function space, and more stores within walking distance. On a personal level, the only sour note was that my convention sweatshirt was lost/stolen. It was only the second convention shirt I have ever bought, and the first for myself.

What a great con MediaWest 12 was and what wonderful SW panels and activities! The First Annual STAR aWARdS was the highlight of the convention, as you can see from the photos in this issue. As bad as last year's MWC was, this year's was that good! The new hotel was spacious and accommodating; the rooms were bigger and each came complete with a small refrigerator and coffeemaker. While the service at the hotel restaurant was rather slow and the menu expensive, a special room service snack menu was offered with reasonable prices. The one time we tried it, service was amazingly fast and the food plentiful. There were also lots of restaurants within walking distance as well as two banks (for emergency cash transfusions via ATM machines) and a shopping center (including a large Target store). Con facilities were very large and the dealers' room was big enough to accommodate all the dealers without having them spread out in various nooks and crannies, as had become prevalent at the old hotel. And there was plenty of room in the aisles so that you weren't swept along in a human tide. The art show room was almost too big for the amount of art. Panel rooms were big enough to hold a fair-sized gathering. The four panels I served on were all well-attended but no one felt crowded.

Of course, it wouldn't be MediaWest without a few screwups. At the last minute, the hotel refused to allow us to bring food into the Star Awards banquet and insisted that they cater it. We had a nice buffet of hamburgers and hot dogs, baked beans and potato salad, and it turned out that ours was the only catered affair at the whole con! For a mere $3.00 (or more as donations were requested to cover the extra catering cost), it was the best deal at the con.

The annual blaster battle had to be cut short because of complaints by a dealer who was selling out of his room on that floor and by a woman who was trying to get her child to sleep. Because the hotel is five stories tall, we would like to advocate to Gordon and Lori Carleton that next year separate floors be designated as a dealer's floor (because the room dealers were scattered throughout the hotel and difficult to find), a blaster battle floor, and a quiet floor for those who want no disturbances.

But overall it was a great convention and our efforts to unify SW fandom have made great strides since last year. Pat Grant related Lori Carleton's comment that the SW fans were now the largest organized group at MWC! Who says SW fandom is dead?

The 1993 MediaWest convention was excellent. Most of the panels on SW were very well attended. Tammy Olsen videotaped them and sent copies to me and Cheree Cargill. Cheree is going to transcribe the SW panels and they will appear in SE. I attended two parties -- the Rebel breakfast given by Forces of the Empire and the SE get together. Both of them were held in rooms and there were so many people at each of them that you couldn't move in the room and the parties spilled out into the hallway. Again this year, I believe the SW contingent was the largest group there. Maggie Nowakowska is compiling a history of SW fans. She would like people to list the year they got into SW and a little blurb about how they got into it, what they were doing, etc. If anyone is interested in this, her address is [redacted] She'd love to hear from all SW fans. The convention filled early and I would suggest that anyone who plans on attending in 1994 get their membership in NOW and also call the hotel NOW and get a room. Both memberships and rooms were selling like hotcakes. They had some beautiful things in the artroom but again I disliked their policy of anything with two bids going to auction. In my opinion, the auction is over long, boring and forces the prices too high. I won't bid on anything that has already been bid on. I won't spend hours sitting in the auction room. There's too many other things I'd much rather be doing. I did not attend the skits but judging from the laughter, they must have been pretty good. The masquerade was very disappointing -- only 8 entrants and I saw much better costumes in the halls. Cheryl Pryor, Lin Ward, Debbie Kittle and Z. P. Florian set up a SW doll display in the art room that was the greatest! They had Luke on Tatooine, the awards ceremony from ANH, Lando on Bespin, etc. Caused a lot of talk. Next year this probably will be set up in the Forces of the Empire cantina. It was very well done and these girls deserve a reward for a job well done. The dealers had to stand in line to get tables for next year and the tables were going very fast. Cheree Cargill told me that when she got to the head of the line, they told her that they only had 3 tables left and there were still at least 20-30 people in line yet! They at first talked about a lottery but later decided to limit everyone to a single table and maybe do a little moving around to accommodate them all. That may mean the aisles are a little smaller next year but hopefully not too much. After the con, I was amazed at how many people stayed over and left on Tuesday morning. We all sat down in the lobby and talked and talked. During the con, there is so much going on that you really don't have the time to sit and talk to the people you would like to talk to. After I got home, I got on my computer network with a bunch of the SW people and somebody said, "Why is it that 5 days at MediaWest go by like 5 minutes and 5 minutes at work seem like 5 days?" How true! SW zines that made their debut at MWC 13: A Tremor in the Force #7, Cheree Cargill, editor. Bright Center of the Universe #3, Ming Wathne, editor. Imperium #3, Arwen Rosenbaum, editor. Jandra, a SW story by Lucy Rhonur. There were several multi-media zines containing SW as well as Alliance and Empire #1, which debuted at Revelcon. Also, I am doing a minizine which is at this moment unnamed. It will be available just for the cost of the paper. It will contain a listing of SW and multimedia zines containing SW and contain a list of the stories contained therein and a brief synopsis. The thing so far contains almost 500 zines and Ming Wathne will be adding those I don't have to it. If you're making use of the Corellian Archives or want to buy old zines, this listing will help you.

The art show. Except for Z. Po's portrait of Han Solo and her price- lessly creative SW doll exhibit, there was a total lack of SW related art. Why is this ... especially since SW fans are, I believe, the largest one group attending MWC. SWart doesn't even have to be the main char- acters, though you'll get no complaint from me if dozens of Han -Solo's showed up on the art show boards! But there are those who favor even space vistas ... place an x-wing or the Falcon or a star destroyer for those Imperials among us, in a galactic starfield '" voila! SWart! Cartoons ... surely we haven't exhausted all the humor in the SW universe. I make this plea because I can't even make two ends of a circle meet on paper, never mind drawing any- thing remotely recognizable. It was just so dis- heartening to see such little representation in that area while the rest of SW fandom is running, jumping and leaping at lightspeed.

This con is a limited membership, and limited art space to members only (although, you can buy a supporting membership that will let you show). They have a good sized room that they pack wall to wall with media art. If you can catch an actor's likeness, then you belong to this show. Portrait work of actors is in big-time demand (as long as the actor is). I've seen things go for $900! I have no idea if they take mail in at all - but I know Heather is attending. Last year, I took a 1/8 of a panel. Sold all of the three pieces I showed, and more than made up for the cost of it all.

What the heck is MediaWest? I was asking that question a year ago myself. I guess the best answer is that it is an annual gathering of 500-600 fans (of books, movies, tv, theater, etc) to get together over Memorial Weekend in Lansing, Michigan to celebrate another year of being fans. No celebrity guests...so just what does go on there?

First of all, there are panel discussions. Up to 8 every hour, from 9 AM until as late as 1 AM. Topics included specific fandoms (popular tv series, like Quantum Leap, or Man from UNCLE, or more obscure entries like Shadow Chasers; and non-tv fandoms as well — Phantom of the Opera theater, Anne Rice Vampire books, Mel Gibson movies, whatever...). Or you could explore writing (e.g. "Writing Good Medicine—excuse me, but your hero's been dead the last five pages"). Still other panels discussed general sci-fi themes (e.g. Time Travel, from the TARDIS to the Imaging Chamber"), etc.

All the Quantum Leap panels were well-attended. This year there were several sessions that provided an introduction to the series. There were also a couple "Whose body is it anyway?" panels (these got very animated!), one on "The effects of Sam altering his own timeline," another on "Keeping it fresh — are all the leaps starting to look the same?." Also, "Does the show have any rules it won't break?," "Writing Quantum Leap — it's more than just a hunk in a dress," and "Crisis management — Al's role in Quantum Leap."

Since the convention started just a couple days after the season-ending episode aired, there was plenty of discussion about "A Leap for Lisa" as well.

When fans weren't debating their pet theories and interpretations in panels, there was always the dealers' room to explore. Here you could find jewelry, photos, paperbacks, but mostly gazillions of fanzines — both new and used. Many fanzine publishers plan their annual releases to coincide with MediaWest Quantum Leap fanzines found here included the Play It Again series. (Quantum Leap zine)|Oh Boy series. Green Eggs and Ham series. Look Before You Leap series, and recent entries such as Leaping to Conclusions, Quantum Mechanics, etc. MediaWest was also a great place to meet some of the writers, artists and publishers and talk to them. During the convention. Fan Q awards were presented for quality/popularity in fanzines appearing in 1990-1. I think Kate Nuernberg won most of the Quantum Leap categories.

Meanwhile, the art room is displaying fans' art in all different media — pencil, ink, color, fabric, etc. Even cartoons. Awards are presented here, too, by fandom, and convention attendees get the opportunity to bid on items for either immediate sale or later, at auction. You could get a piece for under $10, or spend hundreds of dollars on one item. There were several artists who had Quantum Leap works presented—and the quality was amazing.

When all the bustle led you to seek a quiet place to sit and rest, there were two video rooms to choose from. One featured professional work — trailers and behind-the-scene docu-footage for coming feature films like Batman Returns, and sample episodes of all sorts of tv series (from the unaired Lost in Space pilot to Red Dwarf to Quantum Leap—which showed "Camikazi Kid" this year).

The other room aired continuous music videos created by fans—such as Quantum Leap excerpts set to "Holding Out for a Hero" or "You Can Call Me Al," by California Crew. An amazing assortment of tv shows and movies had been put to music; some funny, some poignant. There were several efforts by fans who had spent hours compiling Quantum Leap music videos and then brought them to share with all of us. (These, too, were up for awards. And sometimes, if you had brought a VCR and blank tapes, you could get free copies from the creators. As we all have discovered. Quantum Leap fans are among the most generous around!)

Another refuge was the fanzine reading room — a quiet spot to sample donated fanzines from nearly every fandom. (There was a marked LACK of Quantum Leap fanzines here — maybe the people who buy these tend to keep them and don't get tired of them and donate them to the MediaWest library...)

These events went on all weekend. There was also a blood drive Saturday morning — and among the assorted door prizes to attract donors was an autographed Quantum Leap script A mystery trivia bowl was held that afternoon (fandoms aren't limited to film). Saturday evening there were also plays presented — no Quantum Leap this time though. There was "Star Trek—the Motion Sickness" (a musical), and "JTK (Star Trek VI, as directed by Oliver Stone." These were followed by a costume Masquerade and dance, but many of the Quantum Leap fans instead went to the QL party hosted by Sharon Wisdom and Sandy Hail (of Oh Boy! Press) in their room. Speaking of activities in the rooms, there were parties for different fandoms {Phantom of the Opera, MacGyver, Remington Steele, etc.) most nights. The hotel was prepared for fans and allowed VCR hookups with no hassles. Fans were also allowed to offer from their rooms whatever merchandise they had brought with them—used paperbacks, photos, scripts, fanzines, etc.; and charts outside each elevator allowed participants to identify what fandoms they were interested in. A door decorating contest showed off the creativity of several Quantum Leap fans. And during the entire convention, you might have caught a glimpse of a role-playing game called "Blaster" going on, in which warriors dressed like black-clad space-pirates stalked the hallways with laser weapons, capturing enemies and carrying on their own private battles into the wee hours of the morning. In the hotel atrium lounge, fans into "filking" would gather in the evening for impromptu sessions of sharing their fandom-inspired folk songs and maybe creating new ones. Several times you'd hear the theme song from Quantum Leap being played on the piano there too.

I'm not sure what I was expecting out of this weekend — if nothing else, then a chance to look over a few fanzines before deciding whether to purchase them, save myself the postage, and visit with a few out-of- town friends I had made through Project Quantum Leap or the QL bulletin boards on Prodigy. I think I expected to be intimidated by some eccentric/obsessive fans, but this was never the case. Everyone was friendly, the hotel was more than obliging, the activities were thought-provoking and fun.

Definitely an experience I look forward to repeating.