Kellan and I are two geeks who are in-between conventions and are just worn out from the travel. In this episode, we compare notes on our favorite conventions… from STTC, SDCC, Phoenix Fan Fusion, Emerald City Comic Con, Soonercon and even a local library con. We also take a deep dive into why geeks get into things like classic TV sitcoms/dramedy and how it relates to our scifi fandom. Prepare for lots of cosplay talk.
Madison Spencer Engle, who first appeared on Hungry Trilobyte in Episode 10, is a favorite in the Star Trek Cosplay community. This time around, she and I discuss the new series Picard, its relation to Discovery and other Trek series, and what it’s like to live in the new golden age of Trek. What’s the downside of using a replicator? How big of a moment is it to see Guinan and Seven of Nine? In her words, we are such geeks about this!
Madison Spencer Engle is a favorite in the Star Trek Cosplay community. Not only is she one of the most popular “Beverly Crushers” on the convention floor, but she’s very active on social media giving advice and helping fellow cosplay fans get the recognition they deserve. Madison actually took her love of costuming into the industry, having spent years as a costumer for Star Trek: Voyager, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Austin Powers. She frequently does her cosplay to benefit such causes as Hope’s Kids and Walk for the Blind
Here’s where you can keep tabs on Madison, and follow her positivity:
Satellite News – The prime resource for all things MST3k. Episode guides, episode reviews, cataloging of obscure references, and the most comprehensive history of the show ever in one spot. Also a moderate amount of Keefe.
Christen Stovall is the author of the Song of Souls trilogy of novels. We cover a lot of ground about fiction, reality, life, death, and eating giant turkey legs at the Renaissance Fair. During the discussion, she mentions that the third book, Boundless, in the series is done, and that the Kindle Version of the second book, Soulfire, is on sale.
Here’s where you can keep tabs on Christen and her work:
Sci Fi Film Fiesta – SFFF compiles recommendations for offbeat and semi-obscure vintage sci-fi movies, often complete with YouTube links. Great for finding a Saturday Afternoon Movie in a hurry.
Jenbom, the Klingon Pop Warrior, is a YouTube artist and favorite in the Star Trek fan community. In this episode, we discuss her character, the history of the Klingon Pop Warrior project, and how she’s turned a quick gag on the Improvised Star Trek Podcast into a way to raise money for the charity Extra Life.
My love of costuming goes way back. In fact, it’s only now I’m starting to connect the dots and realize just how seriously I took it even as a kid. Yeah, I was “that kid”, who asked why his plastic K-Mart Halloween costume didn’t look exactly like Optimus Prime.
Case in point, my love of Ghostbusters. There were few franchises that held more of a fascination for me as a kid, and I spent an absurd amount of time not only playing with the toys, but trying to create my own ghostbusting headquarters and car. I poured through the catalog, checking out the amazing life-size roleplay toys that would let me pretend to be a Ghostbuster with “real” equipment. Kenner, who made the toys, should be commended, because they made reasonably-accurate proton packs, ghost traps, and PKE meters. There was one thing, however, that stuck out at me every time I opened a catalog.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, you happy little shit. Not only do you have the official pack, blaster, PKE Meter, and armband… which is awesome… but you actually get this awesome KID-SIZED GHOSTBUSTER JUMPSUIT!!! A jumpsuit that was, in fact, not actually for sale in any way, shape, or form. Kenner made kid-sized replicas of all the Ghostbusters’ equipment… except the jumpsuit. That was apparently made just for the kid in the catalog. That bastard. Probably the photographer’s nephew or something.
I could never figure out if Kenner just didn’t think it was economical to sell kid jumpsuits, or if they just never realized what a gold mine they were sitting on. Or if I was just a really, really weird kid. However, when I see people at conventions with fully screen-accurate costumes, I have extra respect for their hard work.
Can I confess something? I absolutely, positively hate the word “cosplay”. I prefer calling it just plain “costuming”, since that’s what it is. Call me old-fashioned, but I like actually using the full word, and it’s not right to call it “play” when it involves this much work! Now having said that, I’ll still use the word “cosplay” since at least then everyone knows what I’m talking about. But thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
Anyway, I’ve got a few costumes in my closet…. I’ve done stuff from Ghostbusters, and DC comics, and even a little Mario here and there. But I have the most fun doing Star Trek uniforms. Here are two of the ones of which I’m most proud.
Here’s a TOS uniform. Tunic by Anovos, pants by J. Kerezman, and boots by Caboots. What I love about this is that everything in it is completely screen-authentic. Short of figuring out what underwear Starfleet issues, this is 100%
On the other side of the aisle is my Enterprise uniform, and other J. Kerezman creation. Rank pips obtained on eBay. The pattern and colors are also screen-authentic, which means nearly every visible part of this costume is perfect. I would like to find a screen-perfect undershirt. The boots are my TOS boots, sadly. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to track down the Enterprise boots. But it’s close!
Kellan and I are two geeks who are in-between conventions and are just worn out from the travel. In this episode, we compare notes on our favorite conventions… from STTC, SDCC, Phoenix Fan Fusion, Emerald City Comic Con, Soonercon and even a local library con. We also take a deep dive into why geeks get into things like classic TV sitcoms/dramedy and how it relates to our scifi fandom. Prepare for lots of cosplay talk.
Aaron Bossig 