2003 Archive 
Here is the second half of my detailed review of the Fanderson Sector 25 convention.
Another day at the convention. In my case, another 2-ish hours heading there via train and lots of walking. Oh the walking....
Matt Zimmerman and Francis Matthews
The day started superbly with a great somewhat impromptu mini interview with Matt Zimmerman (Alan Tracy) and Francis Matthews (original Captain Scarlet). The interview was a bit odd for a variety of reasons, firstly it was held in a very small room, with maybe enough space to hold 40 people. At the start, Katie Bleathman kicked off the event with an intro, but fairly soon into things Matt and Francis basically interviewed each other and shared anecdotes from their showbiz lives. Apparently, Francis Matthews did a show where he sounded like Cary Grant and was asked to do the Scarlet voice "as" Cary Grant. Oddly, Francis did not see much of Scarlet as he was doing a play in Manchester at the time and only caught glimpses starting around half way through the series.
Matt said that each episode took about half an hour to record his dialogue and they did about 6 episodes in a session. They did use his hand and he worked with a helmet for a filmed sequence in Thunderbirds. interestingly, Matt did not do the pilot episode of Thunderbirds, Ray Barrett did the voice for that one! For anyone who has seen a reasonable selection of british TV shows from the mid 1960s, you will notice that many actors turn up again and again. Francis said that this was basically because there were far fewer actors at this time, and many knew each other so recommended each other for parts. For example, David Holliday recommended Matt for Thunderbirds. Matt's favourite episodes are "Attack of the Alligators" and "Move and You're Dead". Francis can't recall any specifically.
The discussion was quite lively and light and during it, more and more people filtered in, such that the doorway was blocked and there were several rows of people listening from the hall! They mentioned that Sylvia Anderson was very much in charge of the scripts and was more "hands-on" than Gerry who was more into the hardware than the puppets. Hardly surprising insights, but interesting nonetheless.
They both talked about the breakdown in the marriage during UFO and speculated about potential reasons. Amusingly, there was a lot of looking over shoulders during this bit as this is a bit of a taboo subject, especially with "Fanderson" being firmly in the Gerry Anderson camp vs Sylvia Anderson who is basically treated as if she does not exist. I'm not going to get into the detail of the 
conversation as its basically a personal matter, but I really wish there was not such a black and white gulf between the two camps. Life is too short to hold grudges. You're a long time dead. Unless you are Captain Scarlet of course...
About the New Captain Scarlet, Francis Matthews did a reading but got no feedback one way or the other. Next thing he knew was that Wayne Forrester was signed to do the voice. Not too cool. Although Francis has clearly been very busy, it was clear that his pride was more than a little hurt when he was passed over. I for one think he would have done a great job.
I have to say, this was an excellent event and yet another reason to attend a con like this.
Live Performance of New Captain Scarlet
Naturally, there was a large contengent of cast and crew from New Captain Scarlet as it recently wrapped production. After some pledges for the charity reached the necessary numbers, the main hall was filled as the cast of New Captain Scarlet went onstage and performed an episode of the show that was not made due to its dark themes.
The main cast of Scarlet, Angel, Col White and more were onstage, as well as a cameo role performed by none other than Shane Rimmer! The show was done basically like a radio play with narration from Col White, but of course Wayne (Scarlet) hammed it up onstage. For those who don't know, Wayne did the Thunderbirds Mime shows in the 1990s, so he knows how to work a stage. Pure Gold (Doctor?).
Scarlet Interview
There was a good interview with Francis Matthews and Cy Grant. Cy of course was Liuetenant Green, the first black "main" character (??) in an Anderson show. Cy said that CS was important in terms of allegory. Later in the event, the people who played the same characters in the new series came on and joined the interview. Maybe it was me, but I think it must have been a bit of an awkward moment when the two Scarlets met. Francis said that the puppet head was based on Roger Moore. Cy did not see much of the show and in fact I think this might have been his first outing at a convention.
To be fair, there was also an interview with most of the cast and crew of New Captain Scarlet. I missed it as I was elsewhere. I also missed a couple of puppeteers from Thunderbirds (doh!)
Dealers
The dealers were packing up and some were gone by 3pm, which sucked for me as I missed the one dealer I wanted to deal with! I'm hoping to get that elusive SPC vehicle (Rosenthal) soon enough to complete my Scarlet Rosenthal/C21 collection. It didn't help that the US/UK exchange rate is so brutal!
Autographs, get yer autographs
A big autograph production line was set up with Matt Zimmerman, Shane Rimmer, Francis Matthews, Zenia Merton, Cy Grant and Prentis Hancock. There was a line at one end with Cy Grant and it went to the other end. Although this seems great, it basically forced people to either get all autographs, or not-so-subtly skip certain people. Most of the cast brought photos of themselves from the shows which could be purchased.
Meanwhile, in the dealer room, artist Mike Noble was there. To be honest, I didn't know he was there and it was a bit odd to get an autograph from him, but I have to say he was by far the most charming person at the event. He actually took time with each person who came to see him. What a gent. For older fans of Eastenders, he was the spitting image of Arthur Fowler! Mike's artwork is great of course and I was able to get his autograph on a sample of his work.
Talking of artists, Graham Bleathman was there selling some of his artwork. The prices were a bit up there, especially when you consider that it was mostly done in the 1980s or later. I was able to get a quick sketch from him though...
Sector 25 - years that is
In a brief ceremony, Fanderson celebrated 25 years of fandom. Dave Nightingale talked about the early days when he started the club. All in all, it was a high quality event, as it typical of most Fanderson things, be it events, magazines or CDs. Much of this of course is due to Chris Bentley who brought not only his interest, but his considerable design and production talents to Fanderson.
There was an auction at the end which raised 2200, total for the event was over 4000 which went to the Dolphin Charity. Key items were both Scarlet related. One was a bust of the New Scarlet head signed by both Scarlets - very nice.
The other was a set of Domic Lavery's designs from Gerry's collection of all the vehicles from New Captain Scarlet. Bidding went to silly numbers for that. I really hope a book is made of the artwork, but its doubtful due to the poor showing of the series. As most of us have seen most of the oddities on DVDs, there were not many screenings, but there was a screening of Japanese titles and some truly appalling Italian titles.
Gerry Who?
Although he was around at the start of the first day, he disappeared soon after and did not return on the second day. I know it was the weekend, but it was a bit sad not to see much of man himself. I tried to speak to him on the first day, but there were so many others I gave up, thinking that I could catch up with him later. I was wrong. He also seemed a litttle slower than last time, but that was 6 years ago and Gerry is now in his 80s. I am constantly amazed that he doesn't just retire, but I guess his drive is what made him and what keeps him going each day. Good for him, I hope I make it that far in life.
Advice for next time
So was the event worthwhile? unhesitatingly I would say yes. In my case, its extremely difficult to attend each event, but as the cast and crew age, the chance of seeing them again diminishes. Case in point Ed Bishop who I met at the 2000 convention. If you are considering attending a con like this in the future, here are my suggestions:
Research the guests. find out what shows they were in and what they did. Too many times did I meet a person (Mike Trim comes to mind) only to read later that he designed many vehicles and worked on models for Thunderbirds, Scarlet etc. I though he just designed them. Doh! Another example would be last time when I met Alan Perry, who I thought only worked on Joe 90/Secret Service. Turns out he was there from Thunderbirds too.
Bring good photos of all the people, or samples of their work for autographs. Too many times I had to scramble to the dealer stands for a suitable image. Luckily the programme came in handy, but sometimes its better to get something more suitable.
Bring money. Lots of money. Lots and lots of money. In addition to the cost of the event and hotel, there are meals and lunches (no catered lunches I'm afraid) and the dealers will have stuff to tempt you. In many cases far more than you would like to admit. Whatever you bring, you'll spend it.
Stay at the hotel. The events don't stop when the day ends. The rest takes place in the bar and local restaurants. Make the most of it.
Take photos. The event is great fun and in many ways chaotic and draining but before you know it, its over. All you have left is a pile of autographs and an empty wallet. Take some pictures to relive the weekend again and again.
Over and out.