As anyone who reads this blog knows, we here at More TV Please! are big fans of geek culture and nowhere is that more appreciated than at comic conventions. Yes, we all know about San Diego Comic Con (which we are endeavoring to attend next year), but there are plenty of smaller cons around the country. Living in a major city, I am lucky to get a few decent smaller events now and again. My first trip to Boston Comic Con was about 3 years ago when I first me the absolutely adorable Amber Benson. This time around, I caught wind of the con because bad ass Eve Myles (aka Gwen Cooper for all you Torchwood fans out there) was going to be in attendance. Unfortunately, Eve had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts with filming (yes, I am happy she’s gainfully employed thank you!). But, I still had a reason to attend the convention this year. Shortly after it was announced Eve would not be able to make it, two of the dwarves from The Hobbit were listed as attendees. Sadly, Richard Armitage was not able to come (I’ve had a thing for him since his Guy of Gisborne days on Robin Hood). But we did get the ever dashing Aidan Turner and Dean O’Gorman.
I’ll confess I’m more familiar with Aidan’s work, seeing as he was the lead for the first three series of the UK version of Being Human (till they *spoiler*offed his character so he could go off and be a dwarf instead of a vampire*spoiler*). But I have to say, Dean interested me, too I haven’t quite figured out if he was on the version of Young Hercules that starred a very young Ryan Gosling or not. Amazon was of little use and IMDB was equally as unhelpful seeing as a bunch of the same people showed up in the different versions listed. Anyway, I was determined to go and meet these lads. And, like any good con goer, I had to fork over a sizable chunk of money to gain admittance and get the desired momentos (read: autographs). Yes, I got a photo op too so my bank account was a little sad after purchasing tickets and everything I needed.
The con was running for two days and the boys were going to be there for both. But I assumed that the second day would be less busy and stressful. I was only half right. According to some guards I met on the way in, they had over 8,000 attendees the day before. I wouldn’t be surprised if that many showed up on the day I went, too. I honestly didn’t remember BCC being so huge the last time I went. But I will say this, it is definitely more geared towards comics than other conventions I’ve attended (namely Wizard World). The lines to get in were somewhat organized in that if you had a pre-purchased ticket, you got in a littlee faster than if you had not icket at all. But inside was insanity. There were no maps to guide to where things were and the maps they did have were highly unhelpful. They didn’t tell you where things like the autograph booths were or where to go for getting photo ops taken. But with a little guesswork and my boyfriend asking questions, we managed to find where I needed to be to get my autographs from Aidan. I would have gotten one from Dean but at $40 a pop, I couldn’t in good conscience shell out $120 just for autographs (Jen got a lovely one from Aidan too).
Once in line for autographs, I met a few interesting people. Some were relatively calm and normal. Others were kind of spazzing out about meeting the guys. I did get a little excited but all went well. Aidan was lovely to talk to. We chatted mostly about Being Human (as that is what Jen and I had him sign). He was surprised we were still getting it in the states. And he missed the show, too. As he was signing my box set, we were chatting about the look on his face on the cover art which distracted him enough to sign “lots of blood!” instead of “lots of love” as he’d intended. I didn’t mind though. It was sweet and endearing. And makes for a quirky story! Plus I mentioned I’m a lawyer which he thought was pretty cool and he said his next project is the Mortal Instruments movie (where apparently he plays a werewolf. I think he’s making the supernatural rounds). Once I was all autographed, my boyfriend and I wandered around a bit to check out some of the costumes (which is always a lot of fun. I saw some Weeping Angels and a Silence as well as a TARDIS and a couple of Eleventh Doctors) before finding somewhere to sit down. I thought I’d worn sensible shoes but they’re still new and killed my feet. So I got in line for the photo ops and sat for a while until the guys were ready to transition to that phase of the day. A lot of the same people from the autograph line were in attendance at the photo op which isn’t surprising. The photos took maybe 15-30 seconds but it was enough time to say hi again to Aidan and get a hug from both he and Dean. I have to say, for dwarves, they are tall! I was literally dwarfed by them (see what I did there?). But they were still very kind and seemed genuinely excited and gracious to be meeting fans from all over and of different ages. Jen and I both agree that it always makes for a better experience when the celebrity guests are genuinely happy to meet fans and interact with the public. It really makes the entire vent worthwhile and memorable.
Aidan and Dean held a Fan Q&A in the evening but given my foot situation, I decided it was best to just head home once I’d obtained my photo op print. While I enjoy watching panels and think it can be fun to be a part of them, I wasn’t all that keen on sitting through an hour of fan questions. Sometimes you get lucky with what people ask but most of the time, it’s rather lame questions. But, all in all, I had fun. I came home smiling and rather longing to watch the early series of Being Human, just so I could enjoy Aidan’s acting. And hey, I may even have to rewatch the Hobbit just to see the boys in their Middle Earth garb.
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