…A Sense of Dejá Vu

It rather highlights the 'fannishness' of fans when they will go to signing after signing, just to queue for (often) over an hour for the signatures of celebrities and stars that - usually - only they and the organisers know. What’s worse, is when said fans actually attend signing after signing featuring the SAME celebrities. Usually, though, these signings are separated by months, even years, because - unsurprisingly, the stars also get fed up with signing after signing after signing.

Not our intrepid quartet of quintessential question mark aficionados, though. They'll go to anything (well, maybe not anything - but ALMOST anything). And so it was that, after meeting him only a week before at the MDW Birthday Bash, Chalky, Dufus, Enigma and Shirt set off to 7th Galaxy to meet Mark Strickson AGAIN.

Admittedly, part of the reason had been because they were going to buy Phantasmagoria - the latest audio adventure from Large Endings. But considering they had ended up buying it the previous week at the MDW Bash - this excuse was rendered null and void.

It must be said, however, that - all in all - this was a worthwhile trip. Enigma got to swoon once more. Dufus got to drop once more. Shirt got to despair once more (although he also provided much embarrassment, of which, more later). Chalky, did, however, manage to coax an interesting anecdote out of Mr. Strickson. On presenting a story from the MDW Yearbook, entitled One Last Try (which included a photo of Peter and Mark sitting on a rock), Mr. Strickson became enraged with disapproval of the BBC photographers who would insist on taking off-set photos when the star were pissed off, tired and generally not being very photogenic - and then these photos turn up in all manner of places (presumable with out the subjects knowledge). Apparently, they are not allowed to photograph the actors during performance. Mr. Strickson then regaled the ensemble with a short tale about why he and Peter looked so miserable in said photo and signed it (good-naturedly) 'from a bad-tempered Turlough'.

On to Shirt. It must be said that embarrassment usually derives from the personage of Dufus - the one-man stupidity machine.

However, on this occasion it was Shirt's turn to make the others cringe when he - in discussion with Mr. Strickson about the artwork on the cover of Mawdryn Undead - he pointed out how the artist had blatantly used photographic reference on the cover for The Caves of Androzani.

Now, true and fascinating though this is (the said photos are actually included on the reverse of said cover - highlighting their use as reference), what Mark Strickson may care about this is another matter - especially considering he wasn't even in The Caves of Androzani.

Now Shirt will maintain that his comments were perfectly acceptable, claiming to just be making related comments about the video covers, regardless of Mr. Strickson's presence in any of the offending articles.

Of course, we all know he's really on the slippery slope to sad fannishness that we all hope (and ultimately fail) to avoid.

Next thing you know, he'll be asking Colin Baker how he escaped from the missile in Timelash. The blur between fact and fiction is but a few steps away.

But anyway - despite the apparent stupidity of meeting the same star twice within two weeks, it was a worthwhile trip.

One question does remain, though.

Why, when signing Phantasmagoria did Mr. Strickson put little kisses on Enigma's copy, but the three copies of Chalky, Dufus and Shirt were bare in comparison, bearing not a single kiss from the lovely man himself.

Do we think gender is the key?

Chalky, Dufus and Shirt (Enigma weren't there) will return in…

…The Writer, his Wife, the Dalek and the American One.