fandom

It is unimaginable that it has been so long ago. It was 32 years ago on May 21, 1980 that I found myself standing in a long line to see the first sequel in the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back. At the time, 3 years seemed like a long wait after the original Star Wars film, it's difficult to think that it's been 35 years now since the opening of that movie (more on that later this week).

In the video below I recall some distant memories from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… well, 32 years ago at least in a movie theater. What were you doing 32 years ago?

Doctor Who: Podshock - Episode 251
Running Time: 1:53:14

Doctor Who fandom on Second Life and beyond. Featuring the Doctor Who Fandom Panel on Second Life at SL8B with Saffia Widdershins (moderator) of Prim Perfect Magazine, Terry Lightfoot @TerryLightfoot & Oolon Sputnik @OolonSputnik of the Dirty Whoers and New Gallifrey, Sen of Hands of Omega, Dave Lewis @Doctor_No1 of Paradox Island and TARDIS Newsroom, Tristan Avedon @tristanavedon of Who Island, Victor 1st Mornington @vic1st of the Doctor Who Exposition and Katrina, and Louis Trapani @LouisTrapani of Doctor Who: Podshock.

Once again I had the pleasure of being a guest on The Chronic Rift ( @chronic_rift ) podcast with John Drew and Keith R.A. DeCandido hosting and with fellow guest, Chris S. Carothers. In this latest roundtable episode (126), we discuss fan clubs. Predominantly Doctor Who and Star Trek clubs were discussed in this episode. Chris shared information about the club, USS Richthofen, a chapter of Starfleet, The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc., while I was there speaking about the Gallifreyan Embassy, the Doctor Who club I founded in 1985 as well as Doctor Who: Podshock.

For those that follow me on Twitter, may know that I sometimes use AudioBoo to record short audio reports while on the road. It is usually while attending a conference or convention or some other event, though not limited to such. (If you want to know more about AudioBoo, back in 2008, I posted this blog about AudioBoo: Boo! AudioBoo! Mini Mobile Podcasting!)

This year's Gallifrey One convention (Gallifrey Blackjack 21) was no exception.

Back in November 2006, to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Doctor Who, the Gallifreyan Embassy and Doctor Who: Podshock decided to use Second Life (SL), a virtual world social networking service to bring members, audience, and all fans alike together no matter where in the world they may live.

I really need to be careful that I do not turn into a grumpy, old cranky fan. Sometimes I feel I may be heading in that direction, if not already there. This has become even more evident lately on the cusp of the release of the new re-imagined Star Trek film by JJ Abrams coming out later this week.