Although somewhat sparsely attended this year, StarQuest put on another great show. Guests in attendance were MacDudes Bob May (the Robot from “Lost In Space”) and Herb Jefferson Jr. (Boomer of “BattleStar Galactica”) for a second year, Claudia Christian (Ivanova of “Babylon 5”), Chase Masterson (Leeta of “Deep Space 9”), Max Grodenchek (Rom of “Deep Space 9”), Lolita Fatjo (writer for Star Trek) and Victor Brandt (actor, guest appearance on ST:TOS “Way To Eden”).
The guest speakers and panels ran throughout the weekend, along with some favorite fan events, meet the guests, Masquerade, Zocalo, hospitality suite and Zocalo, making this a fun weekend for all that attended.
Bob May MacDude and Victor Brandt both took the stage on Friday, entertaining the early con attendees, talking about their experiences with the film/tv industry and stage. Bob spoke highly of his memories of Gene Roddenberry based on his experiences with the series “The Lieutenant”, a series Roddenberry produced before “Star Trek”. Bob also gave us his insight on the differences in work style between Roddenberry and Irwin Allen (producer of “Lost in Space” and many other series in the sixties). Bob described Allen as a producers producer and Roddenberry as an actors producer, sighting that Roddenberry would often sit down and casually chat with many of the actors working for him, and inquire on how they are doing, are they enjoying working on the project, and so on.
At poolside that evening, Clan MacDude hosted the Second Annual StarQuest Bonnie Knee Competition. The judges, all Lady members of the Clan, were blind folded and the contestants, dressed either in Kilts or swim trunks, were paraded past the judges, who then checked out the quality of the knees presented before them. The spectators, hooting and howling, cheered the competition on. After the judges finished their deliberations, they selected Gunny MacDude as this year’s winner.
The Masquerade on Saturday was a tremendous event, with costumes from Babylon 5, Star Wars, and even FanBoy, looking for a Super Hero to be a sidekick for, with the audience chanting “Fan Boy” to cheer him on his quest.
Sunday also saw the BIG EVENT. Fannish Family Feud. The Clan MacDude competed in this competition of “Family Feud” style trivia, and not only outperformed the competition, but won every round in against every competitor. The McDaddies gave the MacDudes a run for their money, especially with the survey question “Name an Anime Series shown in the US”. The other teams, both comprised of Feddie Ship crews in their jammies (teams comprised of members from the Reliant and Golden Eagle), just could not withstand the shear force of knowledge of the MacDudes. Name a Favorite Fan Foodchocolate? Survey says: Number 1! No, Haggis was not on the list.
Mara’s bar ran the hospitality suite through out the weekend, and was the main Klingon presence at the con. Mara and her crew know how to run a good con party. The many other parties during the run of the con maintained a happy means for people to gather, meander, and socialize in the night, and otherwise party hard.
All in all, it was a bloody good time.
