Congratulations on another excellent show

[JayTee]

It seems the atmosphere in here is deflated after the weekend.

After arriving early on the Saturday, we parked up and awaited the shuttle bus which as usual had a busy queue of people waiting to get on it so I assumed the show was going to be busy and full of energy. In the past I've usually been able to predict most shows on how they will turn out and I honestly thought that with things like the new Red Dwarf episodes coming out this year, a major cast member of Heroes still on of the top shows on television right now, live wrestling, some lovely ladies and a few Star Wars signers I hadn't seen for a while I was expecting a good show. Boy was I surprised and also wrong.

We waited for the normal entry tickets and went in, as soon as stepping into the hall it just didn't feel right, it almost felt like a library when speaking because nobody else seemed to be. Dealers looked on with anxiety waiting to make a sale. Problem was as soon as you stepped through the doors you could only turn right, if you went left you were met with one aisle of dealers and then backboards blocking off at least a quarter of the hall. The climate is hard for everyone right now so I agree with the previously mentioned statement from someone asking for table prices to be lowered to help get more of them in the hall.

When arriving at the guest signing area, it was empty. Again I was shocked as I ended up speaking to some old friends who were also annoyed at the lack of advertising of who they actually were. Just a name on a poster, no pictures or list of films they were in because they were the first to admit they're not "Arnie" so why should everyone know who they are by name?Shame really as this put off alot of people who opted to walk past the section as they simply didnt recognise the faces/names.

It was nice to see the Red Dwarf cast busy as I'm a big fan but again they were brought in by another dealer at the show rather than the organisers themselves. I was surprised that the show didn't have the full cast there with the new episodes coming out especially after the constant flow of people queuing for their autographs this weekend.

The biggest shocker for me was Jack Coleman. Legend of a man, but when I rounded the corner to where he was signing, he was sat there alone looking around like a schoolboy waiting the bell to ring so he can go have a break whilst a number of crew gathered in a group on a table next to him and gossiped away. Not a single person waiting to see him when I got there in the morning so I was happy to see his area pickup later on in the afternoon.

If anyone remembers the November show as well with Bret Hart and his queue, can we honestly compare it with the Iron Sheik this time round? This man is a world champion and a legend in the world of wrestling but yet again, like most other guests he had nobody lining up to meet him which was a real shame whereas last November the queue for Bret Hart tailed off around the hall!

The Bond guests disappeared 2 hours before the end of the show! What is going on there?!

Big positives were the Star Wars guys, as many times as they might've appeared at shows in the past they were as fun as ever, Tim Rose was great to finally meet and big thanks to his assistant that day I have seen her at shows before and is always helpful, Tim Dry, Laurie Goode and Sean Crawford were also on top form, it was a shame to see nobody meeting Andy Secombe though his character of Watto is brilliant! Great to see some new stock on the Uniquities also this year almost got that Gimli helmet but funds prevented me! The Red Dwarf guests were again on top form, making it a pleasure to be there. After that though there really wasn't much else that pleased me and I didn't even buy anything from a dealer unfortunately. Not good.

I won't go on any longer I do hope it improves next time as I've come to prefer the Memorabilia show as my main dates in the year now but the everything needs to get bigger and better next time.

It's a good year for movies you've got the Watchmen and Underworld not long been out, a new Wolverine film, the Hobbit is in pre-production over in New Zealand, not to mention Harry Potter, Terminator, Wolfman and of course Transformers 2 all of which to have guests from would be amazing.

The fact that dealers were talking of the show moving to a smaller hall next time is just a sign of what is to come... with another big show announcing a so-called "huge" guest this week too it will be interesting to see in the coming months what does happen.

Keep the show alive. Thanks.

[vintagesw77]

Like many others i didnt spend as much as i thought i would and i too thought the atmosphear was quite gloomy though me and the gf had had a few so we managed to have a laugh regardless.
This isnt only the show suffering from the above and more
e.g -
1)Gloomy atmosphere
2)Not much on the dealer front
3)Some dealers with stuff youd be hard pressed to give away on ebay
4)Moody guests
5)"Jolly" kids in wigs waving plastic swords etc
I went to a ANother show late oct last year which was exactly the same so its happening everywhere.
Prob is that we are a dying breed us collectors and the with the con scene sadly dominated by here today cancelled tommorow tv conventions and fairweather fans its suffering in the long run.You hear it all the time from the stalls/dealers but sadly i feel the good vibes and glory days have gone.Sure SOME of the guests are friendly,seem pleased to meet you and smiley(or does that acting come in handy?) but to see some miserable star of yesteryear or more than likely in my experiance lasteryear sat staring into space with a pile of 8 by 10s doesnt do anyone any good.
We had a GOOD time despite the gloom as its what you make it yourself and as i got to meet some Hammer stars,picked up at least a few items to add to my collection and got to see VINTAGE stars with more than just a cancelled tv show on their IMDB page it wasnt all bad................. but things aint what they used to be(that is apart from the odd person here and there who has yet to discover the benefits of using soap).
I look forward to October and hope we get some horror stars as the summer and autum months elswhere look to be tv centric AGAIN!


edited 8 times for grammar and still a mess!

[World Of Stuff]

......apart from the odd person here and there who has yet to discover the benefits of using soap....

Perhaps they were vagrants of Comic City?! Great idea but sadly lacking in...well...almost everything. If a couple of tables and chairs make a city then my dinner is on the city right now!!

[vintagesw77]

......apart from the odd person here and there who has yet to discover the benefits of using soap....

Perhaps they were vagrants of Comic City?!

I dunno where they came from but i think it was as far far away from a bathroom that you can get.

[Mr Beaver]

I went to a ANother show late oct last year which was exactly the same so its happening everywhere.
Prob is that we are a dying breed us collectors and the with the con scene sadly dominated by here today cancelled tommorow tv conventions and fairweather fans its suffering in the long run.

**** EDITED AS PER FORUM RULES THAT APPLY TO MR BEAVER ****

[Mr Beaver]

That is pathetic.

I said nothing that nobody else hadn’t said before me, it indeed was even a response to somebody else’s point!.

Even other members are getting sick of you editing my posts!. Come on edit us all! Oh, its just me right?


**Edited by Admin**

[Anime_Angel]

That is pathetic.

I said nothing that nobody else hadn’t said before me, it indeed was even a response to somebody else’s point!.

Even other members are getting sick of you editing my posts!. Come on edit us all! Oh, its just me right?


**Edited by Admin**

yup it's just you because you are 100% ignorant lol

[reddragon]

Well all I can say is what I feel. I have been going to events with every show organiser for the last four years. I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday, I met loads of stars, bought many items from dealers and came away with some excellent memories.#

Thanks again

[cbiddle]

Went to the sunday show and i thought it was ok but not great. I met linda blair and richard kiel and they were very nice people very chatty, the star wars people walking was great esp when the stormtroopers told a austin powers guy that he was under arrest and told him to lie on the floor ha ha. The back to the future car was a nice touch and the live wrestling was sooooo bad it was actually quite good, very comical

Movietyme.com stand was great full of blu rays and at good prices I spent about £110 at that stall

On the bad side imo there was a number of rude people who would walk and stand right in front of you when you are looking at some of the stalls, it got to a point where after the fifth time it happened I told the guy to move or I would move him.

As already mentioned the hygiene of some people was horrific a bit of water and soap would not have gone amiss.

I know its not mcm's fault but the cost of refreshments was a total joke i mean £1.60 for a bottle of water and £3.70 for a manky burger they must be having a laugh

the psp area was too big for the amount of space in hall 12 that we had, the psp demo stands should have been spread out throughout the hall.

Robert vaugne did not look happy to be there also where was iron shiek? Did he turn up?

[Admin-2]

The fact that dealers were talking of the show moving to a smaller hall next time is just a sign of what is to come... with another big show announcing a so-called "huge" guest this week too it will be interesting to see in the coming months what does happen.

Keep the show alive. Thanks.

I need to correct you and dealers who seem to not understand the floor space, firstly the hall for the next show is Hall 9, 10,500 sqm the hall for the last November show Hall 12, 10.500 sqm. So how is the hall smaller?

Secondly, the Spring show was set in the EXACT the same floor space as Spring 2008, no change.

Other than that your quotes are fair from your perspective which is your right

[Admin-2]

......apart from the odd person here and there who has yet to discover the benefits of using soap....

Perhaps they were vagrants of Comic City?! Great idea but sadly lacking in...well...almost everything. If a couple of tables and chairs make a city then my dinner is on the city right now!!

From small beginnings...........................

[GottaHaveFaith]

I suppose the main two points would be:

All information should be available previous to the event - this was a problem at Expo when I needed to sort out clashes etc, and it wasn't much better at this Memorabilia.

I really can't understand how shoot times and the like can't be set in place a few days before the event, or even when the event starts. How can things not be organised at that point?

And guests do need to get there earlier to sign. It's not worth the early entry just to look around stalls. Or at the least inform people that some won't start until a certain time, and let us make an informed decision.

[JayTee]

The fact that dealers were talking of the show moving to a smaller hall next time is just a sign of what is to come... with another big show announcing a so-called "huge" guest this week too it will be interesting to see in the coming months what does happen.

Keep the show alive. Thanks.

I need to correct you and dealers who seem to not understand the floor space, firstly the hall for the next show is Hall 9, 10,500 sqm the hall for the last November show Hall 12, 10.500 sqm. So how is the hall smaller?

Secondly, the Spring show was set in the EXACT the same floor space as Spring 2008, no change.

Other than that your quotes are fair from your perspective which is your right

Many thanks for that it was only what I was told when speaking with people. I have come to love this show more than any other in the UK and I go to them all whether its with big organisers or small charity events getting different reactions and experiences from both. I enjoy the NEC show because of the location and the variety that it brings, but the variety needs to be spiced up and changed somewhat.

I was certainly deflated after this year though, so am hoping for November we have things like; Red Dwarf full lineup farewell signing as I somewhat doubt they will do another set of episodes after this year, a new signer from the new Harry Potter movie, a rare Star Wars signer but not that rare that he can't see himself on screen when we play the movie back , a first time Lord of the Rings signer over here would be nice - Karl Urban springs to mind, then we can probe them with questions concerning the Hobbit and find out who really will play Bilbo and to top it off perhaps Joe Calzaghe just because the man is a legend. The man did a talk recently to just under 2000 people in a small venue sold out at £80 a ticket so people will always pay to see him!

I don't ask for much really do I?

[Admin-2]

On your wish list, Karl Urban has signed in the UK before and Joe Calzaghe has been to Memorabilia

[Satorixxx]

I suppose the main two points would be:

All information should be available previous to the event - this was a problem at Expo when I needed to sort out clashes etc, and it wasn't much better at this Memorabilia.

I really can't understand how shoot times and the like can't be set in place a few days before the event, or even when the event starts. How can things not be organised at that point?

The only problem with posting a fixed time for talks or photo shoots is that guests are subject to other work commitments. If we posted a concrete timetable and a guest or two canceled, we would then have to update the schedule on the day and the information posted on the website would be inaccurate, possibly causing more problems for attendees.

Often things don't run on time, it happens, we're not the type of people to shoo guests off stage if they talk for a little longer than we would like, and as such that can cause timings and other things like to run a little off schedule.

Ideally, yes it would be great to have a schedule set in stone, but with so many factors which could affect it , it's difficult to produce one in advance of the event.

[JayTee]

On your wish list, Karl Urban has signed in the UK before and Joe Calzaghe has been to Memorabilia

When did Urban sign in the UK? I know he was down for one event but the show was cancelled some years back... but take that is you will, get another first timer then

Calzaghe has been before but will always bring in the crowds because hes undefeated. Legend.

[Admin-2]

Karl did conventions in the UK when he was in Hercules/Xena.

[GottaHaveFaith]

The only problem with posting a fixed time for talks or photo shoots is that guests are subject to other work commitments. If we posted a concrete timetable and a guest or two canceled, we would then have to update the schedule on the day and the information posted on the website would be inaccurate, possibly causing more problems for attendees.

I take that on board, but it can always simply be suplemented with a "open to change" comment. But if you really don't want to do that, then it at least needs to be available outside of the event or once we get in there.

Attendees can't be expected to manage their day without the information. This was more concerning at Expo when things may or may not have clashed, and I didn't want to be paying for a photo shoot and then needing to be somewhere else and missing it etc.

I personally have to justify getting an early ticket, and if I get in there and no one's signing and there's no photo schedule etc, then it's not worth it for me because there's just the stalls. So I have to try to balance all that out.

Take it as a compliment that there's so much that I personally want to see/do obviously, but it needs to be expected that people will want to schedule their day, whether before or at the latest as soon as they walk through the door.

[WaveCrest]

I enjoyed the Spring show more than the last one I went to. It felt more relaxed and it wasn't as busy, which I liked as I don't like it when it's crowded and prefer it when you have more room to walk about when getting guests' autographs.

I don't like the body odour problem either.

Oh and queuing up to pay for tickets was better than last time.

[SerenityX]

The only problem with posting a fixed time for talks or photo shoots is that guests are subject to other work commitments. If we posted a concrete timetable and a guest or two canceled, we would then have to update the schedule on the day and the information posted on the website would be inaccurate, possibly causing more problems for attendees.

Often things don't run on time, it happens, we're not the type of people to shoo guests off stage if they talk for a little longer than we would like, and as such that can cause timings and other things like to run a little off schedule.

Ideally, yes it would be great to have a schedule set in stone, but with so many factors which could affect it , it's difficult to produce one in advance of the event.

It's strange that it's so difficult, ********************************************************************

The attendees know that guests are subject to change. Attendees know that guests are subject to change regardless of whether you post a photo schedule. Whether you post a photo schedule or not, somebody will be visiting just for that guest.

As for updating the schedule... for any competent web designer it takes literally 30 seconds or less to edit a file and reupload it. It takes even less than that for the admin to come online and shuffle things around in a forum post!

I'm sorry if this seems harsh, but it's staggering to me that someone can even try to come up with an excuse for why it's impossible to do it. It's easy. Unless you're honestly trying to tell me that you don't actually do your photoshoot schedules until the morning of the show (not even the night before, when the guests presumably have already got on their flights and checked into their hotels)?

To add - nobody is going to shoot you if a photoshoot starts at 13:10 instead of 13:00, but I would be very, very angry if a photoshoot started at 12:00 and my train arrived at 12:30 because I had no idea that I had to arrive earlier. Or that a photoshoot took place at 15:30 but I booked a train home at 15:00 because nobody told us that the photoshoots might start so early or run so late.

[Mark Hazard]

.... on the Saturday

The Bond guests disappeared 2 hours before the end of the show! What is going on there?!

I think you'll find that around 3.30 a number of them were in the stage area doing a Q&A session.

[Mr Beaver]

It's strange that it's so difficult, ********************************************************************

***** edited as per forum rules that apply to Mr Beaver *****

[Guardian]

Honestly,

All I hear from Mr Beaver is complaints and negativity. Were you even at the event? If so can you put your comments in a constructive way or just go away. I enjoy reading feedback from anybody who has something valid to say but if you're just coming on these boards to stir bad feelings and knock the event then b*gger off!

I had a good time although it did seem a little quieter than last time. Got some good stuff, a couple of autographs, met some friends and went home happy. What do you want, the moon on a f***ing stick?

[HarryCallahan]

I have read many of the comments, but I for one had a fantastic time. This is only my second time at the NEC with Memorabilia, but I loved the guest list. It would seem that I have not been to as many events as some regulars, but Linda Blair was a charming delight, as was Neil Roberts, Alan Curtis was wonderful, but the great thrill for me was meeting Earl Cameron, such a gentleman, and we had such a great chat about his work on "Doctor Who", and also his working with Helen Mirren in "The Queen", and Nicole Kidman in "The Interpreter".

One thing I would comment on, if one is having a photo taken at the signing desk with a star, it would be nice if more room is provided so you can put your arms round the star when the photo is being taken. I know that space is a factor in this, and noticed quite a few people having to lean over tables when having a pic taken.
On the whole I thought the prices weren't too bad, if the Carry On team had been a bit cheaper, say £10, I would have purchased more.

But thanks for a great day, and thanks to Earl Cameron, a pleasure to meet you Sir

[Guardian]

On the subject of posed photos at the signing desks, I know that it is discouraged on the whole as there is a proper photoshoot available. Of course it can be down to actor discretion as well as some actors don't like either having loads of flashes in front of their faces or the fact that they have to get up every two minutes to pose.

I wouldn't expect Robert Vaughn to have to keep getting up and down like a yoyo and there was space at the side of his table when people wanted to pose with him. Jack Coleman had "No Posed Photos" up at his stand but very soon he was taking snaps with everybody. I think this was a good event if you wanted to have a pic taken as most guests seemed very happy to pose at the desk. If it's a case of having to pay or suffering the slight indignation of having to lean across a desk, which would you do?