When I was growing up, our local television station broadcast reruns of 1950’s sitcoms, as well as Vincent Price and B-Rated Sci-Fi movies. Whenever I was sick my mom would plop me down on the family couch with my favorite blanket and I would watch The Thing, Them!, Godzilla, War of the Worlds, Forbidden Planet, The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Day the Earth Stood Still and, of course, The Deadly Mantis!
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Some of these movies had robots and they were always a giggle. There were endless variations to make the robot relatable or somewhat human. Later in life, I was introduced to Dr. Who and again loved the creativity of the various robot creations. It was all before the dawn of CGI. Curling up on that couch and watching old movies on my sick days is a favorite memory of mine. These films lifted my spirits when I was sick and were a great way to enjoy a day or two off from school!
Many years later, our daughter invited our family to our first Comi-Con. It was the Emerald City Comi-Con in Seattle. We had heard about the great San Diego event - yet had never been. Not knowing quite what to expect, we set out to the downtown convention center to experience all it had to offer. As we entered the building, we saw a man dressed as one of the Transformer characters. I remember because he was big and red - and really, really done well. However, to my delight, my attention was mostly drawn to families who had simply shown up in their Halloween costumes just to have a good time. It was very sweet.
The convention had plenty of science fiction talks, celebrity meet-and-greets, and an auditorium with rows and rows of sci-fi artwork. I bought my first Star Wars portraits at this event. As a family we also met Anthony Daniels (C3PO) at a celebrity meetup. We found him to be very welcoming, especially to the families and children. These days, several generations are familiar with the Star Wars characters and it is something generations enjoy together. That afternoon we ran into Alex Kingston, who played River Song in Doctor Who, riding down the hotel elevator. She had brought her daughter along on her trip to the U.S. to celebrate her birthday, and they were heading out to enjoy the City of Seattle!
Our second Comi-Con was the first Silicon Valley Comi-Con, led by Steve Wozniak. We were thrilled to help kick off the event with thousands of other sci-fi fans! There were plenty of Stormtroopers and kids wielding lightsabers! The cast of Back to the Future made an appearance, along with their DeLorean. Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley, represented the Harry Potter series. My favorite moment, though, was meeting Chewbacca—Peter Mayhew, to be exact. He was quiet, yet charming. We spent a few moments together sharing an anagram of our last name and had our picture taken together. He is the only famous Mayhew known to me, so I had to say hi!