London Film & Comic Con Review

LFCC

London Film & Comic Con - A Review 

I've just got back from London Film & Comic Con organised by Showmasters and can tell you that the organisers put on a hell of a show.

Turning up on the Saturday we were hit by a queue that trailed the length of Earls Court 2 and beyond. We were walking for fifteen minutes before we finally reached the end of the queue. Thinking we were going to be enduring the queue and the intense London heat for some time, we were pleasantly surprised when the doors were finally opened and we were let in. The queue disappeared in less than 10 minutes.

Once inside we headed for the organisers desk to get our press passes but unfortunately they were already out of the badges so they signed our letters which would serve their purpose for the weekend. The crowd headed to the sales desk for photo tickets. Now this queue was big and moving a lot slower as the staff (all volunteers) had to deal with payments and enquiries. A small table had been set up on the side for ticket exchanges and refunds. We headed there since we had to get an exchange for Michael Shanks and Claudia Black as they had recently cancelled. Rachel (my wife) changed her ticket for Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead and I went for Amanda Tapping from Stargate. There were so many guests it was easy to find an alternative (Check out the list of guests who attended at the bottom of this page.)

Tickets sorted promptly and we were free to explore the floor. There were numerous merchant stalls. So many in fact that after two days I was still finding stalls I hadn't seen. Times for all the photo shoots were posted everywhere so finding your times was easy. Everything was well sign posted. Photo area A and B were together and Photo area C was bigger and on the other side of the floor for the more popular shoots. The photos we had throughout the weekend were Armin Shimmerman, Max Grodenchick, Alexander Siddig, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Dee Wallace, Amanda Tapping, Eve Myles, David Hasselhoff and Norman Reedus. All went smoothly with queues being no more that ten minutes. The organisers really do have this down to a fine art.

In between photo shoots we grabbed the opportunity to get some autographs and a chat with the guests. Having featured Dee Wallace on our site just this week we decided it was the E.T. star we would talk to first. She was pleased to see us and thanked us for having her on the site. She was such a nice person and a pleasure to talk to. Robert Mcnaughton was sitting next to her and he was equally as nice and agreed to do our quick fire questions who we will feature in a few weeks time. Bruce Gray from Falling Skies was just a barrel of fun and again agreed to do our Q&A's.

master chef

There were plenty of talks happening with the cast of Deep Space Nine and the Walking Dead being two of the most popular. Cos-players were out in force with a good variety from numerous franchises. The atmosphere was incredible throughout the weekend with the Saturday being the busiest day (if a little too busy.) Sunday was less crowded and so it was easier to walk around the stalls and get a bite to eat. Earls Court is showing its age slightly with the facilities and overall look of the building and towards the afternoon the temperature inside was rising due to the thirty degrees heat outside. Never the less, overall it was an awesome weekend and this being the second event I've been too now that has been arranged by Showmasters (Destination Star Trek London being the other one) I will have no reservations about attending any other event by the team in the future.

Good job Showmasters.

Coming soon:
Quick fire questions with E.T.'s Robert Mcnaughton and Falling Skies Bruce Gray.

Rob Wainfur
@welshslider