BotCon '97 - Greg "M Sipher" Sepelak

Hi. I'm fairly delerious from lack of sleep. Here is some notes as to what happened to me over the BtoCon weekend. Pardon me while I enter yet another coma.

(Actually, before I start, I just wanna thank all the people who said "hi" to me over the weekend. I wish I could remember who half of you were. I wish I could remember my own phone number after last weekend...)

The Drive Up And Back

At first, I was mildly dreading taking the trip up myself. But actually, it was easy! Fairly frequent stops at rest stations, plus an hour's break at a shopping center each way made the trip a LOT easier than I expected. Highlights...

• The funniest "dirt writing" I've ever seen on the back of a vehicle. A semi trailer with two arrows, one pointing to each side. The one pointing left marked it as the "Passing Side". The one pointing right marked it as the "Suicide".
  
• The worst accident I've ever seen. It was on the southbound about half an hour or so outside of DC. You KNOW it's bad when the first thing you notice is the helicopter parked in the median. One of the cars was on its roof... well, the front half of it, at any rate. The back half was on its right side, while STILL ATTACHED TO THE FRONT HALF. Southbound traffic was not moving at ALL. Stopped dead cold for miles, nothing was getting though that anytime soon.
  
• The fun of not knowing exactly when I was going to hit the turnoffs... is it in half an hour or three?
  
• I hate Pennsylvania. Apologies to those who live there, but the whole damn northbound was under construction from border to border. The holdup was infuriating.
  
• The discovery that gas prices around here aren't bad at all when compared to up north.

The Nifty Convention Stuff

Convention Exclusive Beast Wars 2-Pack

Yes, they're recolors. Let's face it people, EVERY convention exclusive will be a recolor. Making an entirely new mold is EXPENSIVE, so why do it for such a small number?

Yet they are very nice nontheless. Both Fractyl (Terrorsaur repaint) and Packrat (Rattrap repaint) are done in a lightly metallic paint, giving them both a unique look. Also, the box was excellently produced, with artwork provided by Mister Andrew Wildman. Also included in the box is a special black & white comic featuring the two. Wildman's art is much simpler than the CGI models used in the show, but it works so well. (He does an EXCELLENT Inferno.) Plus they both got very detailed tech specs in the convention magazine... hey, as Simon Furman, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio have proved, mediocre toys can be made VERY cool with the proper character behind them. DEFINATELY worth the cost.

Convention Exclusive 2-CD Set

This is much sweet. The first disc is all Stan Bush, remixes of "Dare" and "The Touch", songs from his other projects, plus the new tunes "Critical Mass" and "Ground Zero" performed with Vince DiCola. Stan is great at writing uplifting, inspiring music.

The second disc, the one they weren't telling us about before the convention, is a real treat... it's the rest of the score for the TF Movie! From Unicron's theme to Autobot City under siege, from the befriending of the Junkions (with pieces of "Dare to be Stupid" laced into the tune) to the befriending of Wheelie, from inside the court of the Quintessons to the inside of Unicron's belly. Plus a track called "Legacy", the piece that Vince DiCola used to get the job. Much excellent.

BotCon '97 pre-registrant dinner decoy

Dinner Exclusive

Dave VanDialatedPupils, you are the man. The dinner exclusive was a hand-painted TF Decoy, done by DVD, plus a special display stand and a laminated storyboard panel from the Movie! Cripes man, how many did you do? I had heard 150... plus several neat variants, like the "bullet-riddled" Ironhide, Huffer painted as Optimus, blue "G2" Grimlock, and Jazz painted as the Japanese TargetMaster Stepper. Dave, you wouldn't happen to have a list of all the ones you did, would you?

BotCon Magazine

The magazine itself is nicely-done, even if it is nothing totally exiting. Bios of each of the guests, "Wish we were there" notes from Susan Blu and Larry DiTillio, plus full techs for Fractyl and Packrat. However, stuffed inside each one in the pre-registrant package is a copy of the picture on the back of the 2-pack (Airazor, Inferno, Packrat, Blackarachnia and Fractyl) signed by Wildman, and made out to each pre-reg.

The Guests

These were truly the highlight of the convention. Even those who couldn't attend sent their regrets... Susan Blu and Larry DiTillio through the BC magazine, and Frank Welker via a tape played at the opening ceremonies. It was hilarious. Megatron claimed he could destroy everyone there, "and Peter Cullen!" (Cullen's reaction was in itself priceless... look up to the sky with an "oh, you bastard!" smile) And for reasons unknown, Soundwave warning everyone not to eat too much bacon. (I fully recognize that that was totally out of Soundwave's character. But I don't care, I loved it.)

Peter Cullen

Don't let the rumors fool you. While Mr. Cullen DID request a hefty fee for an appearance, it's because he's a busy man! The man didn't stop working after the old TF series, people! Howsabout providing the noise of the Predator, voices for numerous cartoons (Monterey Jack from RESCUE RANGERS, just to name one) and voiceovers for movie promos? (Like BATMAN AND ROBIN?)

Cullen, for the time he was at the 'con, was a very gracious guest. I think that a big part of that was because he wasn't expecting an event this big, with this many attendees who remember him. (He even said that this weekend has changed his life... apparently, any letters the show got never made it to the voice actors.) He also spoke highly of Frank Welker, and looked genuinely heartbroken when someone mentioned Chris Latta. Plus he cracked jokes the entire time, did voices at the drop of a (cowboy) hat, and generally kept a light mood. I mean, did you ever expect to hear Optimus sing "It Could Happen to You"?

Cullen's a cowboy, through and through. He grew up on a ranch, and lives on one now. He even had a rodeo to get to, which was why he wasn't around on Sunday. While he was only at the con proper on Saturday (being sick on Friday night), it was a pleasure to see him here.

ITEM I HAD AUTOGRAPHED : A copy of Optimus Prime's model sheet. He wrote "Dream on!" above his signature. (And yes, I fully believe those to be words of encouragement...)

Bob Forward

Bob Forward (and the rest of the BW crew) showed up on Saturday morning to to flight complications in Chicago. However, since then he could be spotted wandering the convention all weekend. I ran into him several times, chatting with people, and attending a few panels (he was definately in the Kenner panel, as the designers pointed him out)...

While his panel wasn't big on season 2 info (except really to clarify the "Season 3" rumor... apparently, the voice actors consider a season to be 13 episodes, so to them, the new eps would be in Season 3), it was good for insights into what has come before.

Bob wrote "The Low Road" in roughly eight hours. Normally, scripts take about two weeks to write. PLUS it went through without alteration ONE on Hasbro's part... another oddity, as Hasbro usually has changes they want made. Despite some fans' reactions, "Low Road" seems to be a favorite among the writers and voice crew, simply because it was unabashed silliness. (This is why I disagree with those who call it the "Carnage in C-Minor" of BW... "Carnage" was TRYING to be a serious piece of work. It failed, plus the animation was fourth-rate. "Low Road" wasn't even in the same room as "serious". It was shooting for goofy from scene one.)

Bob & Larry really love Waspinator. Namely, thrashing him. I mean, let's face it, it's FUN. Plus it makes Waspy lovable... don't we all love him out of pity? How can one NOT love the Universe's Chew Toy?

Oh, and they did show that BW tape... not outtakes, but just a funny little collection of scenes grouped together for their content. "Like, For Kids" featured a wide variety of violence, opening with Terrorsaur eating the eagle... lost limbs, buttkickings, chaingunnings... all ending with Optimus saying "You see? It IS possible to find non-violent solutions." "Yes, Excellent" was a rapid-fire collection of Megatron saying "Yess" and "Excellent", "Gorillas Can't Fly" featured Optimus getting shot down many, many times. Fun was had by all.

ITEM I HAD AUTOGRAPHED : I didn't have any official stuff I could think to have him sign... so he autographed a small doodle sheet of BW characters I had.

Andrew Wildman & Simon Furman

I actually didn't attend their panel. I wanted to, but had to watch the table Raksha and I were splitting. But of all the guests, those two were the most visible throughout the weekend. I ran into them on numerous occaisions, even in the hotel resturant before the Stan Bush/Vince DiCola concert. (We offered to buy them a round, but they had already filled themselves to capacity... Furman joked about how he hoped there'd be an intermission halfway through the concert. Actually, considering events later that night, I hope he waited 'till he got to his hotel room...) They attended panels, talked to fans... hell, THEY'RE fans.

ITEM I HAD AUTOGRAPHED : While I didn't attend the panel, I DID manage to sneak off into the autograph line. Furman, he signed a UK TF comic I had gotten the weekend before (the only original-story UK issue I have). They both signed the comic book included in the Exclusive 2-Pack.

Venus Terzo & David Kaye

They didn't show up until later Saturday, and I didn't recognize either of them if they were wandering around earlier. (Venus had changed her looks somewhat since the photo in the BC book. Although I'd hate to think that I simply didn't notice her... there is no denying that she is an attractive lady.) But they did talk with people before their panel, and looked like they were really enjoying themselves. (David continually mentioned that Scott McNiel, who voices Rattrap, Dinobot and Waspinator, wanted desperately to come and would be whining about it for quite a while...) I saw David in the dealer room on Sunday, buying some items...

It seems lots of fun is had by the voice crew during the tapings... they're all stuck in a room together to do the script. "Reaction shots" are severly over-done as jokes (check any Cheetor breath intake), Alec "Tarantulas" Willows gets very into character, and Scott goes to town talking to himself.

Megatron's little "Yess" came out of David Kaye's audition. For some reason, he just tacked it onto the end of a line, and they asked him to do it again. And again. And again.

Oh, and there were some questions about RANMA 1/2 in there... Venus provides the voice of female Ranma (she remarked that it was interesting saying lines like "Cut it out! I'm a BOY!"), David voices Soun Tendo. ("KAAAASUMIIIIIIII...")

ITEMS I HAD AUTOGRAPHED : Well, before I got to that, I gave them each something to keep... a charicature of each of them, with their characters from BW and RANMA. (Soun and Megatron waist-deep in Soun's hysterical tears (Mr. Tendo cries a lot, and is fun to draw doing so) with David in a canoe behind them, and one of Ranma mugging for the camera while Blackarachnia gives a "human germ!" look, with Venus brandishing a firehose behind.) Venus autographed a the latest CON-QUEST, with my picture of the spiders on the cover, and they both autographed the RANMA 1/2 video I brought. (I wanted to do the same for Cullen, but I never had the time, sadly.)

Stan Bush & Vince Dicola

This panel I also didn't attend, due to obligations elsewhere. But they both were wandering around the convention all weekend, and Stan had a table set up with all manner of records, tapes and CDs for sale.

The concert, however, you better BELIEVE I went to that! More on that later...

ITEM I HAD AUTOGRAPHED : I managed to get both their autographs before their panel. Their currently emblazoned on the vinyl copy of the TF:TM soundtrack I found in DC.

Other Events

The Friday Dinner

It was a nice little time. A salad I barely touched, an odd chicken meal, and a chance to just chat with some of the guests that had arrived. (Furman, Wildman, Bush, DiCola... Cullen was sick that night. He sounded it the next morning... I admire his dedication.) I'm glad I went. It was a fun little time.

The cake was good, tho.

Kenner Panel

Somehow, I honestly wasn't expecting to get a lot of info on the '98 TF line out of this... it just seems way too early to let out their plans. However, we DID get a peek at one of the new BW subgroups... TRANSMETALLICS! THIS is why Rattrap has wheels, and many of the old characters are now shiny in the show. In this group, the beast forms are chrome-plated, robotic-looking forms with an intermidiate form, a pseudo-vehicle. When they transform into robot mode, however, THAT'S when the beast flesh reveals itself... they're still robots, but with patches of beast skin not visible in beast form. They brought pictures of Cheetor's TransMetallic toy, and it looks sweet. (He gets wings & a rocket booster for his intermediate form.)

As it turns out, there are only really two people on the design team, and they work on practically every aspect of the BW line along with Takara and Mainframe. That plus the fact that they've come up with any number of TF toys that never make it out means that they are busy, busy men indeed. Whew. Amazing. Many of the other Kenner toy lines have more people on their staff, and they're working with lines that are already visually designed for them! (As most of them are movie tie-ins, so they can look at props and costumes from those.) BW has just two guys working from scratch!

Stan Bush Concert

Simply put, it was eighty gallons of kick-butt in a ten-gallon container. Stan Bush performed acoustic, which I don't think many expected. Yet he puts so MUCH into performing, and his songs are so uplifting, that he could have had played on a banjo and rocked.

Vince DiCola opened with Unicron's theme, shaking practically the whole convention center. He and Stan (and another keyboardist whose name I sadly can't remember... argh!) played together at the end, and, to use David Letterman's phrase, blew the roof off the dump.

They shuffled everybody out of the convention center fairly quickly, which turned out to be a good thing considering the next REALLY unofficial BotCon event...

The Evacuation of the Sheraton Four Points Hotel

I am dead serious.

It seems there was a free Wu-Tang Clan concert in the convention center that same night. Police were EVERYWHERE. As it turns out, they weren't enough.

At 4:30 in the morning, I was INSTANTLY awake, thanks to a klaxon blaring thoughout the hotel, followed by a voice announcing that everybody needs to evacuate the building. At this point, sheer self-preservation takes over, and after barely remembering to grab my wallet, I head down the stairs (ten flights!), through the parking deck, and out into the hotel courtyard. With no shoes. After freezing my butt off (along with many others... I noticed Tony Preto in the same shoeless condition), they let us back in... and I completely failed to get back to sleep. (It wouldn't be worth it... I had to get up about an hour and a half later anyway.) first things first, tho... clean all that black sh!t off the soles of my feet.

There was no fire. Just a mob of godsdamn Wu-Tang Clan fans tearing up the hotel. (And apparently a chunk of Rochester as well.) Hex and I ended up on the third floor of the hotel by accident the next morning, and it was THRASHED. Broken glass, bottles, trash, stains, and the heavy smell of countless illegal substances. (I also heard the ninth floor was covered in extinguisher foam.) Two elevators were out of service that day as well, although I don't know if it was due to "revelry". (I wouldn't doubt it, though.) I also heard that fights had broken out all over the convention center and the hotel, that one of the Clan had pulled out a gun in the middle of the concert, that a mob of fans were running through the streets (I DID notice a LOT more trash around the next morning), and that the convention bathrooms were covered in vomit.

It's a small consolation that there were plenty of arrests, plus the Clan were "escorted" out of Rochester. But not much of one. If anything, it provded some bitter comedy later on.

TF:TM, MST3K Version

When I find the no-talent hack responsible for this, I will personally string him up with dental floss.

What'd You Get? What'd You Get?

Actually, I bought a lot LESS this year than previous years. Partly because my want-list has shrunk considerably within the past year (especially since my lucky $5 Minerva find, which I will not shut up about), mostly due to lack of funds. (Godsdamn car taxes...)

• Fractyl & Packrat 2-pack
  
• "'Til All Are One" CD set (plus one for a co-worker)
  
• Black BotCon '97 t-shirt (I like black)
  
• Stan Bush's "Capture the Dream" single
  
• DinoKing gift set (I know I paid too much for it. But I figured I could either swallow the cost now, or try to assemble the team over piece by piece over the years and possibly never succeed.)
  
• Tonka GoBots, none more than $1.50 (Sorry, but I LIKE GoBots. Some of
  them are pretty spiffy...)
  • Mr. Moto (3-wheeler)
    
  • Ace (P-51 plane)
    
  • Bentwing (F-4 Corsair, like G2 Ransack)
    
  • Bladez (crab monster)
    
  • 5 of the 6 "Monsterous" combiners (missing only South Claw)
    
  • Creepy, both variations (spider/crab monster)
    
  • Bugsie (monster car)
• Battle Beasts Wood Beetle Transport Station (Japanese version, thanks Raksha!)
  
• Battle Beast "Ardent Aardvark" (Japanese, again thanks Raksha!)
  
• Knockoff snap-together figures of X and Zero from the MEGAMAN X series (DESPITE the fact that they're knockoffs, they're still truly cool pieces of work. I love 'em. Also got a few leads to finding more MegaMan toys, which are slowly replacing TFs as my current collecting hobby... TFs are getting costly, plus I've got most of what's usually available. MM however, there is so much I don't have...)
  
• Imitation MicroMaster set (A gift from Ben Yee. I already had the molds, but not in these colors... fun!)

I also came away with a lot more information... I finally saw a red Tracks and a "painted wing" Scourge, found out about the Japanese Battle Beast "Shadow Warriors", saw a blue Bluestreak (loose, tho... I still won't be totally convinced until I see one in unopened packaging), got to see the TransMetallic Cheetor, disovered some GoBots missing from the list (but I still need lots more info!)... very productive.

All In All

Whew. BotCon this year really toed the "overkill" line, even though part of that was my own damn fault. (It was the table.)

BotCon really was a blowout, an extravaganza not likely to be repeated for a while. The only real negatives were totally beyond the Hartman & Halit's control... the fact that virtually everything outside the convention center and hotels closed at 6 (fast-food resturants closing at six in the afternoon! What the hell is THAT all about?!), and of course the unfortunate Wu-Tang incident.

Next year's 'con? Well, simplifying it a bit would be nice. Another concert's probably out. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more voice actors, though... howsabout Buster "Blaster" Jones, Dan "Bumblebee" Gilvesan (sp?), and more of the BW crew (especially Scott McNiel, Ian Corlett, Alec Willows and Pauline Newstone)? Hopefully, Bob & Susan would make it next year, and getting Geoff Senior to pop in would be cool as well.

All in all, I am damn glad I went, and commend the Hartmans and Glen Halit (and all the other folks invlolved in organizing it) for a splendid job.

Allthough I admit I'm glad it's over. This has been the most complicated summer of my life, I've travelled more than ever in these last few months... BotCon was the last major trip. Now, hopefully, I can get back to some of the many projects that I haven't been able to hit...

M "I'm Starting My Own Charity... 'SDE'. 'Save Dave's Eyes'." Sipher