BotCon '97 - Raksha

I wouldn't go so far as to call this a BotCon review, since my thoughts aren't nearly organized enough for that, but I did want to write a little bit about the experience. Overall, it was an incredible weekend -- this one was without any doubt the biggest and best BotCon to date, and I imagine it's going to be hard to top, or even match, for some time to come. I have some notion of how much effort Jon, Karl, and Glen put into this show, and once again I thank them for their dedication, for making this such a fantastic experience. Getting to some specifics, in nothing resembling a chronological order:

The Good Parts

1. First and foremost, the best thing about this convention, like any other, was meeting friends -- some of whom I hadn't seen in a year or more. This one was also big enough to lure in some people that I'd never previously met, though I'd been in contact with them for years (hi Delta, hi Ben...). I only wish there had been time to talk to everyone at length; I must have started conversations dozens of times that were interrupted or distracted by other events or conversations. I also know that I tended to disappear on people, because it proved impossible to step into any room "just for a moment"; I'd invariably get caught up in talking to multiple people. It was all great fun, but to an individual such as myself who is rather a recluse for much of the year, it was all a little mindboggling. Add to that the fact that people needed to get hold of me for art contest purposes, and it seemed that I was forever talking to someone.

2. Related to #1, one of the most enjoyable parts was hanging around Sunday night after everything was over, and chatting with friends. We spent a few hours in what was by then Phil and Doug's room, and now additionally included myself and Magic, Hex and his sister, Andrew, and -- who am I forgetting? Anyone? In any case, I know I drastically needed that down-time to gear up for the late-night drive home....

3. Without doubt my favorite scheduled event was the Saturday night concert. I love smoke-and-lighting effects anyway, and with the addition of TF music and similar songs, it was an absolutely perfect combination. (I wholeheartedly agree with the person -- Tanya, was that you? -- who said at one point that she liked the TFTM soundtrack far better than the movie itself. Even in the days when I disliked the Movie even more than I do now, I'd always loved the soundtrack.) The best bits of the concert, IMO, were the Unicron theme right at the beginning, plus the chance to see "The Touch" (my favorite song off the album) and "Dare" performed live, as well as the exceptionally neat "BotCon theme". I think that was the point where a phone started ringing in the background, in response to which Vince DiCola and Stan Bush strategically upped the volume-level of the music.... I got them both to sign my CD the following day, but now I wish I'd brought my cassette version instead, as that one has more sentimental value to me ... but, no real complaints....

4. Meeting Simon Furman. This was a real privilege. I had the opportunity to tell him my "Thunderwing story" -- how I'd first rather ignored the Thunderwing toy when I first saw it in the stores, since I wasn't that impressed with the look (much as I came to love the character, the face on the toy does look a bit silly), and I hated the tech spec text. But a few months later after I'd read all the issues of "Matrix Quest" in one sitting, I was suddenly overcome by the necessity of finding a Thunderwing toy. By this time the Pretenders had already faded out of the current toy line, and I had to chase through six or seven stores in the desperate hope that there might be a Thunderwing left somewhere. The very last possibility, had a single one left, and I pounced on it. Thunderwing has been one of my favorite characters ever since, and I had the chance to thank Simon for making him such an exceptional character, and for ignoring utterly the abysmal tech specs of the toy. I also got my all-time favorite issue of the comic signed (#66), and my favorite UK issue (#145). Of all the convention guests, he was the one who would have made the trip worth it entirely on his own.

5. I had an actual civil and even enjoyable conversation with Bob Forward. It turns out that his sister raises some of the same animals that I do (various snakes, spiny mice), so that was a starting point ... and after that the conversation moved into the inevitable discussion of the show and my feelings about the portrayal of the Decepticons. While he did assure me that one thing I was afraid of, would not happen, I'm not sure it was enough to change my mind on whether or not to watch the second season. I'm going to have to think about it. If nothing else, I think we've clarified to one another that neither one of us is a monster.....

6. I also had a brief but pleasant conversation with Sanjay, the representative from Hasbro Interactive. He's aware of my feelings regarding the current toy lines, and kindly offered to pass along my concerns to the appropriate people. From what I saw of the game (unfortunately I didn't have time to play it), and from what I heard, I'll be most interested in getting a copy when the CD-ROM version comes out. He also donated some prizes to be given out specifically for Beast Wars art, which was an impromptu addition to the contest. Unfortunately there were very few BW entries, so most if not all of them ended up with duplicate prizes due to this, but it was a very commendable move on Sanjay's part.....

7. The convention exclusives were great, from the toys themselves, to the packaging, to the pleasant surprise of the comic included in the box. The dinner exclusives were Dave Van Domelen's beautifully painted decoys (I should have known); I ended up with Hook, and thanks to the maneuvering of some friends, a Soundwave as well.... Another item in the pre-registrant packet that I thought was an exceptionally nice touch was a card with the battle scene from the toy box, personalized and signed by Andy Wildman.

8. Avatar made a good number of new friends and fans. Despite the fact that she's already been to one convention this year, she remained happy to meet new people, and insatiably curious, and completely unfazed by the bustle of the crowds. Even Venus Terzo, who admitted to a dislike of snakes, ended up petting her carefully. By Sunday afternoon Avatar was getting a little antsy, probably picking up on the fact that I was edging into sensory overload by then too, but she still allowed herself to be passed from one person to the next and petted by anyone who wished to meet her. (On a related note, I just knew my eggs would hatch over the convention weekend ... I came home Monday morning to find 4 babies already out of their shells....)

9. The art contest and display was surely the most extensive it's ever been. I'm truly impressed with the quantity and quality of the artwork this year. I didn't see an auction item this time that I absolutely couldn't live without, though there was one I was quite tempted by -- but I felt, in the end, that it was more suited to another fan of the character and I preferred to see her get it. I was glad to see that one of the Japanese artists, Makoto Ito, actually sent some items to auction this year; he's always sent in material and it's always been fantastic, but this is the first time any of it was up for sale. Needless to say, it got snapped up. Much as I loved the art contest, I'm torn between saying "I'm not doing this again -- simply too much hassle" -- and already planning for how the organization and lay-out could be improved for next year. It will ultimately depend on who does BotCon next year, and whether they ask me to help out in this manner again....

The Bad Parts

(believe it or not, there were a few -- none of which in any way reflect on the organizers themselves)

1. According to my map, the drive to Rochester should have taken approximately 7 hours. Thanks to some very inconveniently- placed construction, it took closer to 9 -- which is why I did not arrive at noon like I had planned. The only saving grace about the construction was that, at one point while we were slowly creeping forward, we came by a pair of signs that said "Rumble Strips Ahead." Okay, he's not quite my type, but I still found it immensely funny....

2. I found the staff of the Rochester convention center to be quite rude. They were forever rushing us out of rooms when events were over, closing the walkway early, and seemed just generally unhelpful and unaccomodating. It wasn't overwhelmingly noticeable, and not enough to put a damper on events, but it was something I picked up on -- perhaps because I was spoiled by my '95 experience, where the Dayton convention center staff truly bent over backwards to be helpful and friendly. My advice to Karl sometime Sunday evening was that if, by chance, he and Jon and Glen do next year's BotCon as well, they might look around for a better location....

3. I had no time whatsoever to go shopping. Between the art contest, my own table, the panels, and talking to people, there just wasn't a moment. That makes me doubly glad that I went to TransCon, as I did most of my hunting there. Besides, I can't complain too much, because a surprising number of people ended up giving me little items, ranging from such weirdly neat things as Megatron earrings and a Soundwave made of balloons, to fossils, artwork, and small artifacts. My thanks to those who helped insure I didn't drive home without a couple of additions to my collection after all....

4. The Hasbro panel. Sorry, but I've got to place this one in the negative category without question. Let's just say that I was extremely unimpressed with this presentation. I felt that the Hasbro reps were evasive, dishonest, dictatorial, and disinterested -- obviously unwilling to engage the fans in deeper discussion. The pic of Cheetor's new robotic mode was quite nice, but it didn't make up for an entire session of "We're not going to answer that," "Put the cameras away," and the barest minimum of a reply to any given question. Contrast this to Anthony Gaud's enthusiastic and open interaction with the fans last year, and you may begin to see what I mean. There may be some sort of legal reason why they couldn't reveal many of the details, but it was very obvious to me that they didn't even want to talk in depth about some of the important issues. The whole question of the re-use of old names was dismissed with a terse "trademark maintenance" reply, after which they hurriedly moved on to the next questioner in order to avoid someone pointing out to them what a mistake this was. If I'd had half a mind to do it ... but, hell, what's the point? If people like this are in charge of the toy line, I despair of it until there's a change in the ranks again.

5. The absence of Frank Welker -- another decided negative. Even more so because Peter Cullen was chosen instead, and that's specifically the reason why Welker wasn't there. Cullen's panel was interesting to listen to, but meant little to me personally. I do think he was quite amazed by the turn-out and by the fact that so many people had come from so far away, and I think he was genuinely pleased -- but at the same time there was a polished and stand-offish quality about his interaction with the fans that I did not detect in the BW actors at both cons, who, IMO, came across as more genuine. Again, it may just be my own disappointment talking here, but such is my impression.....

6. The unexpected wake-up call Sunday morning. Those who stayed in the Sheraton know exactly what I mean. It really began with the fire alarm at 2 a.m., just when the group in my room was drifting off to sleep. We all struggled up from our respective corners and looked out into the hallway; fortunately Vulcana had the presence of mind to call the front desk to see what was going on. We were told it was a false alarm, someone smoking on one of the floors or something. We went back to sleep. At some point I remember hearing another brief alarm, but just rolled over and went back to sleep; then shortly before 5 a siren started blaring, with a voice coming over the intercom saying that a problem had been detected and we were to evacuate the building immediately. As we all dragged ourselves up once again and dug around for shoes and clothing, I tried to kick my mind into gear to decide what to grab. Avatar was near the door in her carrying case, and I could snatch her on the way out -- but while the others were putting on shoes, I scanned my toys and grabbed a bag of con exclusives and a couple of artifacts that I considered fairly irreplaceable. Once we made it downstairs, I was gratified to see that I hadn't been the only one who was nuts enough to save their toys -- though on the way down the stairs the image of my signed comics suddenly flashed into my head -- I'd utterly forgotten about them -- and I had the insane impulse to dart back up for them ... yes, I was still half asleep at this point.... The whole thing turned out to be a false alarm, as I understood it. If nothing else, though, we have a bit of an adventure story to tell.....

Overall, I could describe BotCon '97 as a microcosm of my experience as a TransFan over these past 12 years, condensed into a single incredible weekend. The very best elements of the TF universe and fandom were represented, as well as the very worst, but when I weigh the two against each other I find that the enjoyable aspects far outweighed the negative ones. I have lately been seriously re-considering my involvement in the TF fandom and the TF mythos, because at this moment in time there is more that I dislike about the TFs than that I like. The fandom itself has changed drastically in the last two years, and not necessarily for the better. But when 700-some people get together from all over the world -- when there are individuals who put so much honest dedication into bringing this event to life -- when it is still possible to hold engaging and meaningful conversations over the philosophical aspects of the TF universe with complete strangers, with whom you may have absolutely nothing in common beyond a fascination for the whole mythology and its characters -- then perhaps there is hope for us yet.

Karl, Jon, Glen -- you guys created something exceptional here. And everyone who came, from the fans to the guests, added to the experience. Can't wait for next year.......