Before I get things underway with my summary of today’s events there’s something that I feel needs to be said first. Fan Expo has been absolutely lovely and I’ve really been enjoying myself, but there has been one constant annoyance that keeps causing problems for me during this convention: the schedule (or lack thereof). For other conventions I’ve been to this year (i.e. Ottawa and Montreal Comiccon) there have been downloadable apps with the full schedule for the weekend: panels, autographs, photo ops. Fan Expo has an app as well. However, there is only information regarding the panels on the app (and in some cases, not even enough information for those). Now luckily when I bought my photo op tickets my time slot was printed on my receipt, but I can’t ad that time slot into the schedule on the app so I can see what panels it may or may not conflict with. This isn’t a huge issue, just an annoyance. It’s worse for the autographs though. There is no indication on the app or the website as to what the autograph time slots are for the various guests. I ended up showing up on time for Matt Smith’s autograph purely by chance. I also want Stephen Amell’s autograph this weekend but any time I have asked what his autograph times are I have been told “Saturday and Sunday”. There is a lot going on for those two days so I am not sure at this exact moment which panels and events I will have to miss out on tomorrow in order to get that autograph. This lack of proper scheduling has just been annoying.
On a happier note, riding the high from Matt Smith’s fantastic panel yesterday I spent almost all of my day in celebrity panels and enjoyed myself immensely. First up was Meatloaf. He opened with a story of the time an Aboriginal Chief gave him the name “Never Shuts Up” and I found this to be true in the best possible way. Every story he told was an adventure and his frank honesty and hilarious interaction with the fans made the journey that much more entertaining. I’ve noticed that a lot of fans will ask celebrities for acting advice at panels and Meatloaf’s response to that particular query was the absolute best I’ve ever heard. Basically, he said that he believes it is better to entirely become the character – you don’t want to see yourself on screen, you only want to see the character.
Next panel of the day was John Barrowman. Every single time he has been at a convention that I have attended, something else has always prevented me from going to his panel. I am so glad I finally got to see him on stage. He is absolutely fabulous and if there is any one out there (fan or not) who has not yet seen him at a convention… DO IT! GO TO HIS PANEL! The whole experience was so utterly fantastic and hilarious and I laughed so hard I cried. His energy is infection and his love for his fans is more than apparent. Also he was wearing a TARDIS romper and high heels. The outfit alone should give you an indication of how much fun we all had. The finale of his panel was equally fabulous because Barrowman performed Copa Cabana for the audience – that’s what kind of panel this was. There is honestly no way to properly describe how wonderful that hour was and how happy it made me. Go see his panels!
Later on I saw one of the ultimate legends and pop culture icons – Tim Curry. His humour was so dry and witty that some of the answers he gave to audience questions sounded so simple and straightforward and yet had the audience in stitches. Probably the best element of the panel was the fact that almost every single person in that room was there because one or more of Tim Curry’s films was an important part of their childhood. I myself could remember three favourite children’s films that he had been in. He even mentioned that one of his favourite films to work on was Muppet Treasure Island which was certainly one of my all time favourites as a child. And of course we were all there for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Everyone was truly grateful to be in the presence of such an iconic actor and it was definitely a panel I will never forget.
My last panel of the day was Richard Dreyfuss’ and although the panel wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it was a worthwhile experience. Dreyfuss actually ended up giving a mini lecture about the responsibility that American citizens have with regards to learning about their civic authority. This is clearly a subject he is very passionate about and it was absolutely fascinating to listen to. The only downside is that this phenomenal lecture may have been lost on the crowd of predominantly Canadian fans who were just there to learn about this iconic actor. Some of the fans seemed a little disappointed, especially those who had lined up to ask questions. Although the moderator had tried to get Dreyfuss back onto the main focus of the panel, only about four fans got to ask their questions since the lecture on American politics had gone on for so long. It was absolutely an incredible speech from Dreyfuss but unfortunately missed the mark for this particular event. I would absolutely love to hear him lecture at a university if something like that ever happens.
Of course, the highlight of the day was my photo op with Matt Smith. I have spent all summer getting photos and autographs from the Doctor and it has finally come to an end. Matt Smith was absolutely lovely this weekend, as were David Tenant and Peter Capaldi at previous conventions this summer. I have absolutely loved following the Doctors around and I will most certainly never forget the wonderful convention season I have had this year.
Looking forward to tomorrow! I’ll be getting a photo op and autograph from Stephen Amell and I am very excited!
